Former world number one
Jimmy Connors has shared important insight with Spain’s
Carlos Alcaraz to continue his dominance on the clay court. The
21-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in
men’s tennis in the singles category, along with the likes of Italy’s Jannik
Sinner.
Alcaraz is going through a good outing on the clay court. He
recently lifted the
Monte-Carlo Masters after beating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti
in the final with a score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. The young Spaniard is currently
taking part in the
Barcelona Open, where he cemented his spot in the final of
the competition after beating France’s Arthur Fils in straight sets with a
score of 6-2, 6-4.
Former world number one Connors has been recently quoted in
a report where he shared important insights with Alcaraz to continue dominating on the clay court. The 72-year-old was of the opinion that the secret to continuing to dominate on clay court is to ‘keep grinding’.
“Keep grinding, because when you keep grinding, the better
player, not always, but the majority of the time, is going to come out on top,
because he figures out a game to turn a game which is only 70 or 80% into a
winner,” he said. “That is the key. You can’t play 100% every time. Turning a
game where you don’t feel right, or your game is not in order, or you are a
little lethargic to still come out and win. That is what makes a great player
in my opinion, but that is just my opinion. He has that ability. Especially on
the clay. He is in a comfort zone now. Not that he isn’t on every other
surface, because he has won other Grand Slams, but I think clay is a good
comfort zone for him leading into the French, Wimbledon and the US Open. Once
you hit the French, you have three or four months of strenuous tennis at the
majors and if you can get on a roll at that time, wow, that is great.”