Steve Johnson suggests where Carlos Alcaraz is just not as good as you would expect for a player of his ability

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Carlos Alcaraz had to overcome some obstacles to win the Monte Carlo Masters title for the first time.

Alcaraz had admittedly been struggling away from the court heading into the clay court season, but managed to win his biggest title of the season so far in Monte Carlo.

After winning the Monte Carlo Masters, Alcaraz was congratulated by Novak Djokovic alongside many other ATP and WTA players.

However, there are still some concerns about Alcaraz, which will be tested throughout the clay court season.

Steve Johnson suggests where Carlos Alcaraz is just not as good

Alcaraz admitted he did not play his best during his run to the Monte Carlo Masters title, having to come from a set down in his three of his five matches.

This includes the quarter-final, where Alcaraz took advantage of Arthur Fils’ mistakes to beat the Frenchman.

Former world number 11 Sam Querrey has described Alcaraz as the best in the world when at his peak, but questioned the difference in the Spaniard’s game when everything is not going well.

“My takeaway is that he played unbelievable,” Querrey said on the Nothing Major Podcast. “He like almost red lines from the get go. He hits forehand as you guys know over 100mph consistently. He will spray balls. So many times this week he lost the first set and then dominated sets two and three. Or he won the first set close and then dominated set two.

“When his game is at its peak or its highest there is nobody who can beat him right now. You see some of these set scores right now 6-1, 6-0 in the finals. He had another one earlier in the week against Cerundolo, lost the first set and I think he was also 1 and 0.

“His level is so high when he’s playing his best. Do you still think there is a bit of a concern with Alcaraz that he does red line from the get go and if that’s not working he can be vulnerable and can lose sets here and there?”

Steve Johnson followed this by claiming that Alcaraz has been this way for a long time, saying that he is behind his rivals when not on his A-game.

The American went onto point out what Alcaraz could to do help improve his chances when he is not feeling his best.

“I think he has been that way the last 18 or 24 months,” said Johnson. “I think his high end level of tennis is the best in the world by far.

“Just the everyday run of the mill tennis is not as solid as you would think it would be for a guy as good as him. I think he could use his legs and athleticism a bit more on the days he is struggling and not hit himself out of matches.

“But it’s hard to argue with the list of accomplishments and titles that he has week in and week out through his career. It is remarkable how good he is at tennis. When he gets rolling, he is unstoppable. He can roll through these guys in a hurry when he is playing his best tennis and he catches it on the screws he is a tough, tough, tough out.”

Who has beaten Carlos Alcaraz in 2025 so far?

Although there have been some questions over Alcaraz’s game over the past month, he has only lost four of his 24 matches so far this year.

Alcaraz is also tied for most ATP wins in 2025, with his most surprising loss coming at the Miami Open.

Coming off the back of losing to Jack Draper in the Indian Wells semi-finals, Alcaraz was beaten by David Goffin, who was the world number 55 at the time.

This is not the first time that the 21-year-old has suffered a shock loss in America, where Alcaraz was stunned by Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open.

Alcaraz will be hoping to avoid any shocks at the Barcelona Open, where he begins his tournament against world number 126 Ethan Quinn.