Carlos Alcaraz has to make a mental adjustment to get over the hangover that is winning a Grand Slam title believes tennis analyst, Gill Gross.
Alcaraz has not won a tournament since Wimbledon and was surprisingly beaten in particular by Tommy Paul in Toronto, folded against Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati before not defending the US Open losing to Daniil Medvedev.
He then went to Asia with the mission of becoming World No.1, only to lose to Jannik Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov in the latter stages and will now take a short break from the sport ahead of a busy end to the year.
"There’s a mental adjustment that I think needs to be made. We talk about this with players who achieve really big things and have these big breakthrough results. There is often a hangover as a result of something like that happening," Gross said (via the Monday Match Analysis podcast).
"I’ve seen a lot of focus issues for Alcaraz. I would not give him high marks in focus, which is such a big thing mentally for tennis players. It is such an important attribute. It is under-discussed," he added.
"You could say ‘Gill how do you know that it’s focus and not just he started playing worse?’ And my response to that is when the scoreboard suggests that you’ve reached a moment in a match where there could be a loss of focus and time and time again, Alcaraz responds with a dip in his level," he stated.
"An example, in Cincinnati, he’s up 5-2 against Hurkacz in the third set and completely just gets sloppy. Or he’s up a set and a break against Djokovic, who is not doing well physically… he [Carlos Alcaraz] throws in a terrible game at 4-2. I believe it was in the second [set]," Gross explained.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
Carlos Alcaraz & Juan Carlos Ferrero having too much fun in Shanghai.
Even the world’s best athletes have to stop & take a minute to laugh. 😂❤️
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