Carlos Alcaraz has been told his attitude and body language left a lot to be desired during his Paris Masters exit with a renowned journalist reminding him that Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer “managed to win because they fought with humility”.
After reaching nine consecutive top-level finals – including three Grand Slam finals in a row – Alcaraz started the final ATP 1000 tournament of the season as the heavy favourite alongside Jannik Sinner.
But the world No 1 produced an erratic display during his second-round match at La Défense Arena as he went down 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Cameron Norrie, who is currently at No 31 in the ATP Rankings.
Alcaraz’s frustrations often boiled over and he was involved in several heated discussions with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The six-time Grand Slam winner was told by Ferrero to “See what you are doing well and correct it”, but the 22-year-old fired back saying, “I’m doing everything wrong.”
He was also unhappy with the speed of the court as he vented: “I don’t feel it. Zero! I feel nothing. This is worse than Monte Carlo.”
The defeat was Alcaraz’s first before a final since the Miami Open in March when he was beaten in the round of 64 by David Goffin.
And he is now in danger of losing the No 1 spot in the ATP Rankings to Jannik Sinner.
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French tennis journalist Benoît Maylin cautioned Alcaraz during the Sans Filet programme as he urged the Spaniard to take a leaf out of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer’s book when it comes to winning matches when not playing well.
“When you’ve played nine finals in a row and you’ve just beaten Norrie at Wimbledon, you obviously come into this tournament thinking, ‘Let’s keep going, I’m untouchable, I’m going to get through my rounds’,” Maylin said.
“I didn’t like his attitude. I didn’t like his body language, getting angry, telling himself he couldn’t do it. You have to be able to win when you’re playing badly, as your illustrious predecessors did.
“Nadal, Djokovic and Federer didn’t always play their best tennis, but they managed to win because they fought with humility.
“Rafa would never have had such an attitude on the court. He needs to be careful not to let a little ego take hold.
“Everyone says that Sinner and Alcaraz are untouchable, so he hears it too. He’s such a star that he also needs to know how to come back down to earth, go deep into the mine with Norrie, get out the pickaxe and win matches like that.”
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