It's already clear what Carlos Alcaraz needs to work on ahead of the Australian Open after practice match defeat to Alex de Minaur

It’s already clear what Carlos Alcaraz needs to work on ahead of the Australian Open after practice match defeat to Alex de Minaur

Posted by Admin January 8, 2025 Tennis

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Exhibition practice matches ahead of Grand Slam events are becoming more common in the modern game and earlier today Carlos Alcaraz took on Alex de Minaur.

This one which took place under the lights of The Rod Laver Arena was put on for charity with two of the world’s top players getting a feel for each other ahead of the Australian Open.

A change in Alcaraz’s serve was picked up during the latest practice match and perhaps this warm-up with the Australian number one has thrown up more questions than answers.

Alcaraz hasn’t been named in the Spain squad for the Davis Cup and clearly, he’s fully focused on ticking off the only Grand Slam he’s not won in Melbourne.

Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images

What Carlos Alcaraz needs to work on ahead of the Australian Open

This proved to be a big victory for De Minaur in the end, with the Australian running out 7-5, 4-6, 10-5 to claim a confidence-boosting win over Alcaraz.

In truth, it wasn’t the most vintage performance from Alcaraz who was seemingly struggling to find his rhythm and any real consistency against the Aussie.

His form was erratic at very best – especially on the forehand side – and with the score 4-3 in the first set, Alcaraz had already made 31 unforced errors.

That is pretty much unheard of and it’s going to be imperative that he tightens that aspect of his game up as he continues to prepare for the Australian Open.

Naturally, the game wasn’t completely serious and there were some trick shot attempts from both players, with some proving more successful than others.

As a result, it’s easy to forgive Alcaraz for some of his unforced errors during this match but on the court, there were times when the Spaniard was getting quite annoyed with himself.

Alcaraz can break record held by Rafael Nadal with Australian Open win

The Spaniard will naturally be one of the favourites for the title going into the first Grand Slam of the year which gets underway on Sunday.

There is a real incentive for Alcaraz to get the title under his belt and he could blow Rafael Nadal out of the water should he win the Australian Open.

Nadal was 24 years and 102 days old when he managed to tick off all four Grand Slam titles and Alcaraz can eclipse that in the next few weeks.

The player doesn’t have to do it this year and he will have two other Australian Open events to try and beat Nadal.

However, if he does it this time around, the record could stand forever and a day with Alcaraz yet to turn 22-years-old.

His performance against De Minaur wasn’t the best but ultimately it’s not the end of the world and at least Alcaraz knows what he needs to work on ahead of the tournament getting underway.