Patrick McEnroe calls Alcaraz' tennis style 'too uptight': "Not always winning tennis"

Patrick McEnroe stated that Carlos Alcaraz's tennis is not always effective following his defeat at the 2023 French Open against Novak Djokovic

Former tennis player Patrick McEnroe, younger brother of John McEnroe, commented on Roland Garros in his podcast 'Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe', with special attention to the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

The young star appeared as the favorite to defeat 'Nole', thanks to an excellent performance in previous matches, including a convincing victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas. After losing the first set, Alcaraz managed to recover in the second set, but an injury prevented him from maintaining the rhythm against the Serbian, which cost him the match.

McEnroe expressed his opinion that the world No. 2 was "too uptight."

“He's just way too uptight! You know in that first set you could just see he was just going for too much,” said Patrick McEnroe. “The one thing you worry about with Alcaraz, you know, he's so explosive, he's so dynamic. These are the things that make him fun to watch," McEnroe said.

"It's cuz he's just, a lot of times, he goes for it when he doesn't have to go for it. And as I said, it's highlight reel tennis, but it's not always winning tennis. Particularly in the best of five, in a major, against Novak,” he added.

“I know it was hot that day, I know the second set was physical, but this guy has played a lot of long matches. It was nerves. Best of five matters because of the mindset, mentality, the hype, pressure, Novak, French Open,”

This week, Alcaraz is preparing for his participation in the ATP 500 Queen's Club Open, which will kick off the grass season. The Spanish player is the top seed in this tournament, which will serve as his preparation for Wimbledon.