“I would give Alcaraz a little more advantage on clay than hard” – Mouratoglou

The French coach believes that Alcaraz’s weapons are deadly on clay

Carlos Alcaraz at the 2023 Barcelona Open Image Credit: Imago / Panoramic

April 18, 2023

French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, the co-founder of Tennis Majors, believes that reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz is an all-court player, who has a slight advantage on clay as compared to hardcourts.

The 19-year-old has stunned the tennis world over the 12 months with his rapid rise to the top of the men’s game – winning his first Major and becoming world No 1 while still being a teen.

As the season moves to the European clay court season and leads up to the clay court Grand Slam, Roland-Garros, a lot of eyes are on Alcaraz especially with his countryman Rafael Nadal being forced to sit on the sidelines since the Australian Open due to injury.

“I think Carlos Alcaraz is an all-court player, I don’t think he is a clay-court player,” Mouratoglou said in a video posted on social media. “Rafa is more of a clay court player. He’s an all-court player, but he has learned to be good on other surfaces, but originally, he was really a clay court player, which is not the case for Carlos.”

I think Alcaraz is an all-court player from the start – Mouratoglou

Patrick Mouratoglou, 2022 | © Mouratoglou Academy

Mouratoglou. who has been coaching one of Alcaraz’s main rivals Holger Rune over the past six months, believes that Alcaraz’s forehand, his court speed, his drop shots and his kick serve combine to make him very dangerous on clay.

“I think he’s an all-court player from the start. He’s good on hard as on clay, maybe I would give him a little more advantage on clay than hard because he has some weapons that are deadly on clay.” he added. “The drop shot, and he’s a master in drop shots. His kick serve which is one of the best, if not the best, on tour. And his forehand. And of course, he’s an incredible mover. When you put all of this together, I think it gives him even an extra edge on clay compared to hard court.”

You might also like this