Carlos Alcaraz 'will need to play better in the second week' to hold Australian Open chance says Tim Henman

Carlos Alcaraz will need to play better in order to have a chance during the second week of the 2024 Australian Open believes Tim Henman after he sealed victory over Juncheng Shang due to retirement.

It can be best said that Alcaraz has played his B game during the tournament, but the same can be said for many of the top names with Novak Djokovic only just starting to hit top gear, Daniil Medvedev being hampered by late finishes and Jannik Sinner going under the radar but performing expertly. Henman though believes there is hope for Alcaraz in that he believes he can find that extra gear in order to take it to his rivals and head towards the title.

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Mats Wilander also spoke in response and gave the perspective that like many of the top names, Alcaraz has come in cold due to only playing an exhibition and that is it facing Novak Djokovic in Riyadh and facing Alex de Minaur lastly in Australia beforehand with a match with Roberto Bautista Agut in between. A bit more of a relaxed atmosphere and not match practice, Wilander said that he isn't going to be at his top level yet and he isn't expecting him to be.

“He wasn’t at his best in the first couple of rounds but to get this one comfortably, he’s ticked the box,” began Henman in the Eurosport Cube.
"He’s through the first week unscathed, hasn’t used too much energy and he will need to play better in the second week but I think he can.”
“In a way, this is a good thing for him,” said Wilander in response. “He’s won a couple of matches, [but] didn’t play much coming in bar an exhibition with De Minaur, he’s not going to be as match fit.”

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