Carlos Alcaraz has received a brutal comparison following the Australian Open. The world No. 2 lost in the quarter-final while his young rival Jannik Sinner went on to lift his first Grand Slam title. Retired tennis player Paolo Bertolucci believes that Sinner is “light years away” from Alcaraz in one important aspect of the game, something that helped him win in Melbourne.
Alcaraz and Sinner have formed one of the most exciting new rivalries in tennis. Aged 20 and 22 respectively, they have already faced off seven times, with the Italian leading their head-to-head 4-3. Both men have been consistent at the biggest tournaments and have been able to threaten the dominance of Novak Djokovic.
They also enjoy a friendly relationship off the court and have talked up their own rivalry, with Alcaraz hoping they could emulate Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s competition. It was Alcaraz who pulled ahead first in the Grand Slam race, winning his first at the 2022 US Open as a teenager and his second at Wimbledon last summer before the world No. 4 triumphed at the Australian Open last week.
While the Spaniard has already achieved more than Sinner – also reaching No. 1 in the world – former pro Bertolucci believes that the Italian is way ahead when it comes yo his mentality. “In my opinion, Alcaraz has an incredible technical background, even physically, but mentally he is light years away from Sinner,” the former world No. 12 told Fanpage.it.
Alcaraz is known for his flashy game style and his ability to have fun on the court, with some of his fellow tennis players even trying to take a leaf out of his book and smile more. While Bertolucci thought it produced “beautiful” moments, he also claimed that the approach was costing the world No. 2 some wins.
The 72-year-old continued: “He looks for something else besides the point, many times he seems to be having fun and involving the public because his tennis is made up of special effects. content with making a point, he wants to do it with a double somersault, with a somersault. These are beautiful things, which drive you crazy, but sometimes they make you lose games.
“There are moments when everything is easy and you can let yourself go. But if you find three ties in the third set you have to go solid and he has been lacking lately from this point of view.” However, Bertolucci believes there is still time for Alcaraz to catch up to Sinner in the mentality department given his age.
He is two years younger than Sinner, he is very young and if they manage to channel him he will be a splendid player to be admired for a long time. Otherwise, it will be fluctuating with very high peaks and sudden drops,” he added.
Alcaraz will be hoping to bounce back from his Australian Open defeat during the upcoming clay court events in Latin America. The two-time Major winner crashed out to Alexander Zverev in the quarter-final – his earliest Grand Slam defeat since Wimbledon 2022. “Obviously quarter-final of a Grand Slam is good. It’s not what I’m looking for, but is not bad,” he said after his loss.
