Former world No 6 Gilles Simon has dismissed “unfair” criticism of Carlos Alcaraz’s recent form as he urged people to look at the “big picture” regarding the Spaniard’s results.
World No 3 Alcaraz suffered surprise losses in both Indian Wells and Miami, results that have attracted a significant amount of attention.
The Spaniard was beaten 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 by Jack Draper in the Indian Wells semi-final, ending his 16-match win streak at the event – and dashing his hopes of a third straight title.
That was then followed by a stunning 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 loss to David Goffin in his opening match at the Miami Open.
Alcaraz won his 17th ATP title at the Rotterdam Open in February but has not made another final across four other tournaments in 2025, falling in the last eight of the Australian Open and Qatar Open.
The 21-year-old’s form has been the subject of huge speculation, but he has found a huge ally in Simon.
Speaking to Tennis365, the Frenchman defended Alcaraz’s “unbelievable” achievements and questioned the level of criticism lobbied at the four-time major champion.
“The problem with this type of player is that they have a lot of attention, so in the end, every time we have big expectations for them,” said Simon.
“He won four Slams, and it’s crazy at his age. People are tough. It’s unbelievable what he has achieved already, and he will achieve much more than he did.
“Every time someone like him is losing, we make it a big deal, as he’s supposed to win everything. I don’t believe he’s this kind of person. He is a player where we know what he has in the racket, we know what he is able to do.
“Everybody in the end likes him and when he’s not winning, we are disappointed and we put it on him – and I think it’s unfair.”
Alcaraz will next be on court when he kicks off his clay season at the Monte Carlo Masters next week.
The Spaniard has withdrawn from the event the past two years, and also withdrew from both the Barcelona Open and Italian Open in 2024 due to injury struggles across the clay swing.
However, those concerns did not prevent him from winning his maiden French Open title in June, before completing the ‘Channel Slam’ with a successful Wimbledon title defence last summer.
And, he has had huge success across the clay swing before, winning both the Barcelona Open and the Madrid Open in 2022 and 2023.
Ahead of a busy summer, 14-time ATP Tour titleist Simon has backed Alcaraz to roar back into trophy-winning ways.
ATP Tour News
Monte Carlo Masters seeds, draw date, points & prize money: When could Alcaraz & Djokovic meet?
‘Carlos Alcaraz will be inconsistent for the rest of his career, but he can pull off miracles’
He said: “Sometimes, it’s a bit harder, but what I’m sure about is that he’s going to find a way again, and this is where it’s crazy. When he’s going to win, everyone is going to say: ‘He’s back on track’.
“He’s going to win again. Is it going to be at the French Open, is it going to be at the tournament before?
“Maybe he’s going to play a bit more because he lost, so he has maybe that need to be on court and win matches to build that confidence that will help him again to win the big title in the end.
“The problem is with the media, we are always panicking when someone is winning, they’re going to win everything for the next five years. No, it always changed, and suddenly it changed like this, and no one sees it coming – because they are not looking at the big picture.
“And the big picture is Carlos Alcaraz is a very special player, he has already achieved amazing things, and he will achieve amazing things again.
“When? He’s going to find a way. I don’t see anything as dramatic as it is. You can maybe lose two tournaments and maybe win again the French Open and Wimbledon.
“Then I want to ask all the people who talked badly about what he was doing right now: ‘Ok, was it that important to lose in the first match in Miami?’”
Simon was speaking in his role as an ambassador and team captain for the 2025 Roland-Garros eSeries by Renault.
Read Next: Exclusive: How Roland-Garros eSeries is bringing tennis to a new audience
The post Exclusive: Carlos Alcaraz critics told to look at ‘the big picture’ after ‘unfair’ criticism appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply