A tennis legend asserts In important areas, Carlos Alcaraz is “better” than Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
After Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals, Mats Wilander declared that, “in terms of technique,” he had never seen a stronger forehand.
The seven-time major champion emphasized that Alcaraz’s forehand is not the “big, loopy” shot Rafael Nadal possesses, saying it is “better” than Novak Djokovic’s.
Alcaraz crushed world No. 60 with a magnificent showing. Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday in the fourth round of the Australian Open 2024, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0.
In the Melbourne quarterfinals, the two-time Grand Slam champion will take on world No. 6 Alexander Zverev, with whom he has a 3-4 record.
The world No. 2 is hoping to win his maiden championship at the Australian Open, which he is only attending for the third time after missing the competition last year.
The 20-year-old Spaniard’s greatest weapon is without a doubt his forehand, which is among the finest in the game when it’s playing at its peak.
Wilander praised Alcaraz’s forehand side variation and the way he used it to attack Kecmanovic after Alcaraz defeated the Serbian.
He and Kecmanovic are different in that they are both attempting to hit forehands. “He has numerous options, a plethora of options,” the former world number one told Eurosport.
“With the forehand, he can shoot drop shots both ways both inside-out and inside-in. He is also capable of looping it up like Rafael Nadal. It seems to me that you will have an extremely difficult day if you try to hit him on his forehand.
“I find it difficult to analyze anything that I don’t fully comprehend. Alcaraz has a very uncommon forehand placement. He struck Kecmanovic’s forehand 63% of the time, which is often where most tennis players find their strongest, and the backhand only 25% of the time.
“He really is the only one who hits the ball so hard that nobody expects this kind of tennis.” Although Djokovic does occasionally play there, victories are extremely rare because you can defend and spread out there far more effectively than on the backhand [wing].
The speed at which it is accelerating is amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a finer forehand in terms of technique. It’s better than Djokovic, not the big, loopy Rafa.
Tim Henman, a former world No. 4 player, evaluated Alcaraz’s
The forehand winner into the extended grunt 🥵@carlosalcaraz is a man on a mission tonight ⚡️#AusOpen • #AO2024 • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/UI2oOpEL60
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2024
former fourth in the world Tim Henman evaluated Alcaraz’s forehand and emphasized the variety of options available to him.
“He makes it look so simple because he keeps his upper body so still, but his forehand is a difficult shot. The racquet head acceleration through the forehand is unbelievable,” the British player remarked.
“He can hit the ball flat to go for the big winner with that racquet head speed, or he can come up the back of the ball and give it more air over the net to stay in the rally.”
“After that, he has a drop shot in which he simply passes beneath it. He has an infinite amount of choices. It is among the most
