Patrick Mouratoglou recently expressed his concerns over Carlos Alcaraz’s scheduling. According to the French coach, Alcaraz’s emotional and physical fatigue stem from the him playing much too often. Mouratoglou also compared the World No. 3’s scheduling to that of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
However, these comparisons drew criticism from fans, with many lambasting the coach, who previously worked with Serena Williams and Simona Halep, among others.Alcaraz’s recent fortunes have been mixed to say the least. While his latest outings for Spain in the Davis Cup group stage resulted in wins, the US Open Series before that was a different story altogether. The World No. 3 crashed out of both the Cincinnati Open and the US Open after suffering shocking second-round losses
In the aftermath of his straight-set defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at Flushing Meadows, Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he was not at his mental and physical best, especially after an absorbing and, in the end, overwhelming experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics.The Spaniard made his debut at the Games this year, featuring in both singles and doubles. For doubles, Carlos Alcaraz paired up with legendary compatriot Rafael Nadal. The duo reached the quarterfinals before losing to the USA’s Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, but it was in singles that the World No. 3’s gold medal aspirations were put to the sword at the last hurdle by a resurgent and rejuvenated Novak Djokovic.
Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t contain his tears after the match; a clear reflection of the toll that the loss had taken. In light of all these recent twists and turns that have suddenly affected the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion’s season, Patrick Mouratoglou spoke up about the Spaniard’s scheduling.
“I wouldn’t think he’d lose in 3 sets like this [US Open]. But for me it’s a half a surprise. Two grand slams in a row, now he can rest. No no no. The Olympic Games now, plus all the other tournaments. But they meant so much to him. He put everything, mentally, emotionally, of course, physically and tennis-wise, on the table to win them, because it’s got counted so much. And when it counts so much for you, emotionally, it’s draining. He was exhausted, mentally exhausted,” Mouratoglou said.