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Casper Ruud thinks Carlos Alcaraz is maturing and playing more calmly than before, something that is not good news for the Spaniard's competition. After winning a Grand Slam and reaching the world No 1 position last year, Alcaraz has further elevated his game in 2023.
Along with Novak Djokovic, 20-year-old Alcaraz is widely considered among the best players in the game. Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, is noticing signs in Alcaraz's game that point to the 20-year-old becoming an even more dangerous player.
“I think he’s more mature. He seems a little bigger, a little stronger physically. Obviously, he plays so aggressive and so great, but sometimes it seems like he might beat himself a little. He goes for almost too much, at least in my eyes.
I am not going to criticize him any more than this, because he's a great player. But sometimes when you hit all these crazy shots, it's kind of tempting to go for an even crazier one. But I think he's understood that most matches won’t be won by playing crazy shot after crazy shot.
It’s more about stability, and I think he’s playing more calmly than before, and that can be dangerous when you have the strength and power combined with the cleverness on the court we’ve seen this year.
It’s a great combo," Ruud told Barbara Schett on Eurosport's Ruud Talk.
Ruud thinks Alcaraz is becoming even more dangerous
In his first 10 tournaments of the 2023 season, Alcaraz won six titles. But since landing his first Wimbledon title in a very impressive way, Alcaraz has gone five consecutive tournaments without winning a title.
However, Alcaraz has had several deep runs since Wimbledon as he was the runner-up at the Cincinnati Masters and also reached the semifinals at the US Open and Beijing. This week, Alcaraz is returning to action at the Paris Masters.
Although Alcaraz missed last week's ATP event in Basel due to two separate injuries, he is still among the top favorites for the Paris title.