Carlos Alcaraz’s coach assesses how he must improve as he responds to Andy Roddick criticism

Juan Carlos Ferrero, the coach of Carlos Alcaraz, has addressed the Spaniard’s game-improvement strategies and addressed Andy Roddick’s remarks regarding his serve.

Alcaraz had a mixed start to the 2024 season, making it to the Australian Open quarterfinals and the Argentina Open semifinals before having to retire from the Rio Open after suffering an injury in his first encounter.

The two-time major champion was broken seven times in a four-set set loss to Alexander Zverev in the 2024 Australian Open last month, putting on an inconsistent show.

After the Australian Open, Roddick examined Alcaraz’s serve on his Served podcast and noted that it was a component of the 20-year-old’s game that had not developed.

“I feel that he could do a better job serving. The 2003 US Open champion concluded, “That is the one thing that I don’t think has really improved much at all in the last two years.”

“We were aware of him when he won Miami a few years ago, and I recall seeing him kind of peak. At that time, he was serving 135; however, it seems like he’s only serving 127 now.”

“Alcaraz’s first serve seems to be able to hold up when he goes after it if he’s not hitting that kick serve, which is moving you up and out of the zone. On that serve, you have to make a small movement, and he has to make a small tail movement.

Particularly considering how skilled he is on the first ball and how much he can intimidate you. Even his slicing serve feels a little bit straight right now. It doesn’t have the same kind of swing as [Peter] Sampras, where you have to sort of chase it as it tails away from you.

It sounds like you can kind of square it up and get that nice pop sound to it if you read it correctly. Therefore, I believe that Alcaraz can most obviously improve its serve.

During an interview with Clay Tenis, Ferrero listed the things he believes Alcaraz has to do better.

“A little bit of everything. He’s still a young player, so I believe he needs to keep developing as a young player in order to make wise judgments there. Experience helps you read matches a little bit better, and that’s something he needs to improve on tactically,” the Spaniard said.

“Knowing the players very well, being aware of their shortcomings and virtues, and being able to profit from their closest competitors—Jannik [Sinner], Daniil [Medvedev, Novak [Djokovic], Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev—is essential.

“Learning to train every day with a clarity of thoughts to better, and enriching yourself from all of them to keep rising the level. A small amount of each and every thing. In the end, a 20-year-old player’s development cannot be stopped. regardless of his height.

The 2003 French Open champion went on to say that while he disagreed with Roddick’s assessment of Alcaraz’s serve, he acknowledged that it still needed to improve.

“Carlos is making progress with his serve. One of the hardest things to improve in a player who doesn’t serve naturally is his serve, which we changed biomechanically when he was fifteen or sixteen years old.

Since serving is Roddick’s strongest suit, he is a natural at it and can simply get better at it. It would be similar to telling Carlos to work on his forehand. Since it’s his most instinctive stroke, it’s easy.

“He has been honing the serve, which is something that needed to be done gradually. Yes, he moves quickly and with direction. We are trying to improve the first serve’s consistency, but it takes time. We must continue to get better since this never stops.

Of course, when you’re the best at something and everything seems so clear-cut, it’s simple to criticize someone. The viewpoint is valid, even though I don’t quite agree with it, as Carlos has become a better server.

“F**k, how [bad] he serves, is what you would have said if you had seen him three years ago.” It’s something that takes time to get better; serving with a lot of speed and direction is difficult.

Inquiries concerning Ferrero’s friendship with former world No. 1 Roddick—the man he lost to in the 2003 US Open final—were also made.

He said, “Yeah, we talk when we see each other, but no more than that.”