"Have you seen Federer, Nadal, Djokovic cramp once in a match?"- Patrick Mouratoglou urges 'emotional' Carlos Alcaraz to schedule better in future
Tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently claimed that the Big 3 - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, did not face cramps in matches like Carlos Alcaraz has recently. Mouratoglou believes Alcaraz is 'emotional' and needs to schedule his events better next year to avoid mental fatigue.
Alcaraz won the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July before bagging the silver medal at the Olympics early in August. He participated in the US Open in the last week of August but could not make an impact in New York, facing a shock upset in the second round against Botic van de Zandschlup.
Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Simona Halep, and Holger Rune, recently posted a Reel on Instagram where he talked about how Carlos Alcaraz had gone through a tough season winning multiple Grand Slams. He believed all the events meant a lot to the Spaniard, but it left him exhausted.
"He put everything, mentally, emotionally, of course, physically and tennis-wise, on the table to win them, because it's got counted so much. And when it counts so much for you, emotionally, it's draining. He was exhausted, mentally exhausted," Mouratoglou said.
Further, he claimed that the greatest ATP players have not cramped during matches but Alcaraz, at a young age, has suffered from cramps.
"He's very, very emotional. We've seen him cramp many times already. If you look at Roger, Rafa, and Novak, have you seen them cramp once in a match? All their careers? He cramped many times already, only at 20. He's an emotional player," he added.
Keeping the 21-year-old's future in mind, Mouratoglou believes, Alcaraz and his team need to plan better.
"So I think that knowing that, in the future, they will have to think of a calendar where he has enough rest—mental rest, not physical rest—mental rest. I think it is very important for his future," Mouratoglou said.
Carlos Alcaraz doubles down on his 'tight' tennis schedule claim after Davis Cup win over Tomas Machac
After exiting the US Open, Carlos Alcaraz began preparing to represent Spain at the Davis Cup in Valencia. Spain's first Davis Cup Finals group stage match was against the Czech Republic and the Spaniards won 3-0.
Alcaraz played singles and doubles matches. In the singles match against Tomas Machac, Alcaraz won after the Czech player retired early in the third set. During his post-match interview, he doubled down on his comments after his US Open loss about the tennis schedule being 'tight'.
“Honestly it’s a special feeling for me playing here in Valencia at the Davis Cup. I missed it last year. As I said many times, the schedule in tennis is really tight," Carlos Alcaraz said.
"There are a lot of tournaments I love to play. But sometimes I can’t do it. Last year this was the case for me. Missing the Davis cup. But this year I’m really excited about it. It’s a really special feeling for me," he added.
The Spaniard even felt that Machac retired because his longer US Open stay may have pushed him to his limit during their match. Spain will take on France in their next group-stage clash on Friday.