Eye of the Coach #84: Alcaraz’s game isn’t suited to indoors – but that’s no reason he can’t win

Carlos Alcaraz‘s natural dominant game is tempered when he’s playing indoors, says Patrick Mouratoglou – but that’s no reason he can’t play well and win matches.

The world No 2 began his ATP Finals campaign in Turin with a three-set defeat to Alexander Zverev 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4.

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And in the latest episode of The Eye of the Coach, the Frenchman assesses the strengths of the young Spaniard’s game, and explores why it’s not so well suited when he heads indoors.

“It’s more difficult for Alcaraz to be dominant on indoor hard court,” says Mouratoglou.

Key moments of The Eye of the Coach

• 0.08 – Alcaraz is better at dealing with tricky outside conditions than most other players. “All the things that are a bit difficult to control for lots of players, he doesn’t care,” says Mouratoglou.
• 0.21 – The quality of Alcaraz’s athleticism, power and feel mean he feels comfortable outdoors.
• 0.30 – Being indoors takes away that particular asset that he benefits from when he’s outside. Alcaraz can defend, but “his game is to control”.
• 0.45 – Players who serve well and hit the ball very hard do well indoors, like Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune, and it’s hard for Alcaraz to play from the back of the court.
• 1.08 – There is no reason for Alcaraz not to play great tennis indoors. “The indoor season is very short…he needs to get used to that surface more than other players,” says Mouratoglou.
• 1.20 – Mouratoglou points out that someone like Rune grew up in a country where he has played indoors a lot, so Alcaraz needs more experience on the surface.

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