Former tennis star Andre Agassi has pinpointed an exact change in Carlos Alcaraz’s game which may have been decisive at the French Open. The Spaniard will bid to retain his crown on Sunday afternoon when he takes on Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz has been in sensational form in Paris so far, and Sinner will need to be at his very best from the 22-year-old from dominating proceedings.
Although he has been one of the very best in the business over the past few years, Agassi has revealed that he has spotted that Alcaraz has slightly tweaked his backhand technique which has made him even more of a frightening force.
Speaking on TNT Sports, the American broke down how Alcaraz is moving his racquet slightly differently to increase its time on the ball marginally. He explained: “I do like the adjustments he’s made. Here’s last year (as a video plays), he’s taking the ball up higher, his right arm is a little bent, so the racquet head is going up long before it comes down.
“He’s taking it up pretty darn high, now he has to drop it, get underneath, pull through with the right hand and then finish. The dude is so fast switched that really what he has in his back end there is just a variable that he doesn’t need to deal with.
“This is a year’s difference (new clip shown). Look how he’s taking his racquet back. He takes it back with a straight right arm, his left is way under control. It’s a great way to simplify it, like a golf swing, you get to the top of your swing, you have that pause and you drop in the slot and you let it go. He’s getting himself through that slot right away and that’s what I love about it.”
Some pundits on the panel admitted that they had not realised the slight adjustment until Agassi highlighted the change, and he made it no secret that the amended style is having its desired effect. He concluded: “Because that not only allows him to settle down some misfires, but he can hold the ball longer. When you watch, because of what he’s doing, his racquet face is already closed, that ball can travel deeper in the strike zone, they don’t know if he’s going to pull it across or if he’s going to hold and just go inside off line.
“He can go either direction with it because in tennis, power and control comes from time spent on racquet with the ball. I don’t care how you swing, if you can keep that ball on the racquet a split second longer – we’re talking about nuances – you’ve got more power, more control and more perception. So you’re talking about a guy who’s crazy athletic.”