Australian Open: ‘Careful what we wish for’ with Carlos Alcaraz after loss to Alexander Zverev – Tim Henman

Eurosport expert Tim Henman has warned that tennis fans must be “careful what we wish for” when it comes to Carlos Alcaraz’s spectacular shot selection.

Alcaraz, the world No. 2, could fall to world No. 3 in the rankings should Daniil Medvedev, who plays Zverev in the semi-finals on Friday, win the tournament.

A real fans’ favourite since his explosive emergence onto the ATP Tour, Alcaraz has won two Grand Slam titles at the tender age of 20, winning the 2022 US Open and Wimbledon in 2023.

With such an entertaining style of play, Alcaraz is one of the most-watched players on the tour, and with that, has garnered a huge fan base.

Eurosport experts Henman and Mats Wilander have warned that fans need to be ‘careful with what they wish for’ if they believe Alcaraz needs to change his playing style.

“The first few points in the match is what worries most people. You can’t do that when you play against Alexander Zverev,” Wilander said.

“You can do that when you play against Rafa or Novak, where you have a chance to break and give yourself some time, but when you’re playing a guy like that, the first two points of [your] service game are huge because [if they] go up a break, that’s it, done.

“In the Wimbledon final against Djokovic, he started serving for the match with a drop shot, lost it, and then hit another drop shot, winning that to hold serve. Do we want him as a fan to change that?

“It’s the same as Nick Kyrgios. I’d like to see him win majors, but do I want him to hit tweeners? I’m not really sure. Alcaraz is sort of similar.”

“We need to be careful of what we wish for,” Henman replied.

Laura Robson and Barbara Schett, both on-site for Eurosport at Melbourne Park, believe that the 20-year-old has time on his side to find some discipline in his shot selection.

“There’s no panic for Carlos because he’s having a bit of a slump – I wouldn’t even call it that – post-Wimbledon,” Robson explained.

“A couple of months where he hasn’t quite played as disciplined as he did there. It’s a bit of discipline that he’s lacking in his game because he wants to for all of these crazy shots, but you can. That’s half the fun. That’s why you pick up a racquet in the first place.

“You don’t want to lose that part of your game. No stress, no drama, and we’re going to be talking about him for another 10 or 15 years.”

“I don’t see him as a showman, really,” Schett said. “Nick Kyrgios, Gael Monfils, and Frances Tiafoe are showmen. Alcaraz is so young and he has those matches every now and then where he doesn’t have a game plan. He’s not very disciplined with his shot selection. That was the case yesterday. We have to give him some time; those matches don’t happen that often anymore.”