‘I have improved a lot’ – Alcaraz responds to Roddick serve criticism

Published 14/02/2024 at 12:29 GMT

Carlos Alcaraz addressed the comments made by Andy Roddick concerning the Spaniard’s supposedly diminishing service game. The 2003 US Open winner believes it is the one area in which the 20-year-old can improve. Alcaraz concurred with the American’s assessment, but insists he is making big strides in that area. The world No. 2 has two Grand Slam titles to his name.

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Carlos Alcaraz has responded to criticism levelled at him by Andy Roddick concerning his service game, admitting “I still have a lot to do”.

The 2003 US Open winner was addressing the topic of Alcaraz’s serve on his aptly-named ‘Served’ podcast, and highlighted it as an area for improvement.

“I think his serve leaves a lot to be desired. That is the one thing that I don’t think has really improved much at all in the last two years,” said Roddick.

“I remember watching him at Miami a couple of years ago, and he was serving 135 [mph], and now I feel like he’s serving 127 [mph].

“Alcaraz, if he’s not hitting that kick serve – that’s getting you up and away and out of the zone – it feels like people are able to firm up his first serve when he goes after it.

“You need to create a little motion on that serve, he needs to create a little bit of tail.

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“Especially with how good he is on that first ball and how much he can bully you. Right now, even his slice serve feels like it kind of goes straight.

“It doesn’t have that [Pete] Sampras swing on it where it’s tailing away from you and you’re kind of having to chase it.

“If you read it right, you can kind of square it up and get that good pop sound to it. So I think the serve is the most obvious place to improve with Alcaraz.”

The world No. 2 agreed with many of Roddick’s claims, but stressed he has been happy with his performance at the start of 2024 in an interview with Spanish outlet Ole.

“I feel that the serve is something that I have improved a lot, but I have to continue improving, and then I want to work on how to deal in certain situations,” he explained.

“I repeat, I have improved a lot, but I actually have to continue improving and I still have a lot to do.

“The reality is that I feel very confident, with a good level, I come from playing well in Australia, I had good training on clay and physically I am very well, at a very high level of tennis.”

Alcaraz’s immediate focus is on defending his Argentina Open title in Buenos Aires this week, beginning with a match against Camilo Ugo Carabelli on Thursday.

“I think that the affection I receive here in Argentina is very nice. I love it and I appreciate it a lot,” he said.

“People are super passionate about sport, about tennis, and are very involved in the matches. I appreciate that a lot.”

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