Andy Roddick leaps to Carlos Alcaraz defence after Novak Djokovic beats star
Carlos Alcaraz shouldn’t be criticised for any bodily points he at the moment faces after the world No 1 was overwhelmed by Novak Djokovic within the Cincinnati Open ultimate on Sunday. That’s in keeping with former American tennis star Andy Roddick, who identified that Djokovic himself didn’t have full management of his sport when he was the identical age because the Spaniard.
The Murcia-born 20-year-old has been admired for his bodily attributes ever since he broke into the sport’s elite, however he has not been with out his challenges.
Alcaraz was defeated by Djokovic within the semifinals of the French Open when he suffered nerves induced cramps, contributing to his loss.
But solely weeks later he was capable of get his personal again on the Serbian, successful his first Wimbledon title in a five-set thriller.
With a rivalry not firmly established, the world’s two greatest gamers went head-to-head once more within the ultimate of the Cincinnati Open, but it surely was Djokovic who emerged victorious this time, coming from a set right down to prevail 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.
Roddick praised the 36-year-old 23 instances Grand Slam champion for adopting a robust method however absolved Alcaraz of any issues over his bodily situation.
Speaking to the Tennis Channel, Roddick mentioned: “Let’s give some fair context. Novak didn’t have his body completely figured out when he was 20 years old either, right? Like, the book [on how to play Djokovic] used to be let’s extend rallies. What I used to try to do when I was playing Novak would now be a suicide mission against Novak.
“So we do need to give Carlos the appropriate amount of time to figure out his body. I changed midway through, diet can make a huge difference, but it’s trial and error, right?”
Alcaraz took the longest route doable to the ultimate in Ohio, with all of his matches leading to three-set contests. He was pressured to return from a set down in opposition to each Max Purcell within the quarterfinals and Hubert Hurkacz within the semifinals.
But regardless of falling on the ultimate hurdle, Roddick was eager to level out that Alcaraz had given Djokovic a troublesome examination.
Roddick mentioned: “There’s two things. We shouldn’t criticize Carlos too much. It was extremely physical, he played a long three-setter yesterday, the day before that, the day before that, the day before that. And now that’s on the side now.
“Listen, Carlos is already an hour and a half better than he is normally in extreme conditions when he gets to cramps. [Jannik] Sinner was like 2:20 [2022 US Open quarterfinals], [Cameron] Norrie last year was 2:20 at this exact tournament [quarterfinals]. The French Open, it was about the 2:20 mark. Now we’re talking about the 3:50 mark, same problem but it’s getting better. That’s progress.”