Carlos Alcaraz went off the boil in his first-round match against Fabio Fognini at Wimbledon, and former three-time champion John McEnroe has highlighted two things the Spaniard has to change.
The World No. 2 successfully navigated his way out of a shocking first-round Wimbledon exit against the Italian veteran, beating the 38-year-old in a gruelling five sets.
Alcaraz plays Britain’s Oliver Tarvet next at Wimbledon, and he’ll be looking for a more straightforward match at SW19.
McEnroe has named the two aspects of his game Alcaraz absolutely has to change if he’s to be successful at the tournament for the third year in a row.
Carlos Alcaraz needs to improve his serve and forehand, says John McEnroe
Alcaraz’s impressive Queen’s victory provided the perfect warm-up for Wimbledon, but the World No. 2 looked bizarrely off the pace on Centre Court.
Speaking on the BBC’s coverage of the tournament, tennis legend McEnroe said Alcaraz was ‘flat as a pancake’ against Fognini.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner was particularly surprised by two shots Alcaraz struggled with in the lengthy five-set epic.
“His serve was off, [and] his forehand,” said the American pundit. “To see him play like that was surprising.”
The Spaniard won the final set 6-1 against Fognini to set up his second-round match against Tarvet, which is set to be played on July 2.
Carlos Alcaraz struggled in the Wimbledon heat
While McEnroe believes Alcaraz was off the boil technically, the Spaniard suggested the intense weather was a huge factor in his performance.
Speaking after his win, Alcaraz said: “Obviously playing with such a high heat out there is really difficult to deal with sometimes.
Fognini’s display pushing Alcaraz to his limit accentuated just how hot it was on Centre Court. “Even tougher when you’re playing long matches, long rallies,” revealed the World No. 2.
Temperatures reached over 20 Celsius at Wimbledon yesterday, making it the hottest day on record at SW19.