Carlos Alcaraz has already established himself as one of the greatest tennis players of all time at the age of 22.
The Spaniard, now ranked second in the world after a near-miss in the Monte-Carlo Masters final, has 26 ATP titles to his name.
Seven of those have been captured at Grand Slams, with Alcaraz having won two US Open titles, two Wimbledon championships, two Roland Garros crowns, and a sole Australian Open trophy.
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Aside from the odd lapse in concentration, he has no weaknesses in his game and is arguably the most naturally talented player of all time.
Perhaps the biggest weapon in Alcaraz’s game is his huge forehand, which Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, thinks is unlike anyone else’s.
Patrick Mouratoglou analyses Carlos Alcaraz’s forehand
After watching a clip on Instagram of Alcaraz transferring his body weight forward during a forehand despite being on the back foot, Mouratoglou said: “That forehand of Alcaraz is something I’ve never seen before.
“If you look at the start of the forehand, he’s really on the back leg, his body weight is leaning a bit backwards.
“And 99.9% of the players would finish that forehand moving back. And because it’s Carlos Alcaraz, he is finding a way to not only transfer his body weight, even though he’s starting completely on the back, he ends up being inside the baseline on a shot that caught him.
“How is it possible? He has always been so aggressive; he always wants to be in charge, and this attitude repeated so much has become an aptitude.
“By wanting so much to be aggressive even though he was in a defensive position, he developed this aptitude to transform a physical defensive position into a physical offensive position.
“I’ve said it, and I repeat it: I’ve never seen something like that in any player.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s next match on the ATP Tour
Following his loss to Jannik Sinner at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz will now get his Barcelona Open campaign underway.
Alcaraz made the final of the ATP 500 clay-court tournament last year, where he ultimately lost to Holger Rune.
Should he win the title in the Spanish capital this time around, he will reclaim world number one status after losing it to Sinner in Monte-Carlo.
In his first match at the Barcelona, Alcaraz will take on Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen, whom he has never faced before on the ATP Tour.
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