Weekly Sports Newsletter: Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, a right-handed Nadal or the next ‘pursed lips, cocky nod’ Djokovic?

This week the tennis world lined up along the red carpet showering rose petals to welcome the next big champion – Carlos Alcaraz Garfia, a 18-year-old from a scenic Spanish village, El Palmar, known more for palm trees than tennis greats.

There was a general consensus about his class but an outrageous global divide about his style of play.

THE FUTURE IS HERE 🇪🇸

The moment @alcarazcarlos03 broke Djokovic’s record as YOUNGEST men’s champion in #MiamiOpen history! pic.twitter.com/9zX8ZidYyK

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 3, 2022

The moment he was crowned the youngest-ever Miami Masters 1000 – once called the 5th Slam – champion, everyone from the pundits to the meme-makers felt obliged to answer the obvious ‘He is the Next Who?’ question.

Much before Miami happened, Alcaraz would cringe on being hailed as the ‘Right-handed Nadal’. His swiftness around the court, the eagerness to dominate points and the muscular frame being the basis of the comparison and Spain’s leap of faith.

We're not crying, you're crying ❤️@alcarazcarlos03 @juankiferri #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/f5mRWKII5v

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 3, 2022

His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, a French Open champ who couldn’t survive the Big 3 march in the mid-noughties, too wasn’t delighted. He tried to lighten the burden of expectations loaded on the young shoulders by the home fans. Ferrero said that Alcaraz’s style was more like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He wasn’t making it easy for the boy whose every stride on court was suddenly under surveillance.

Nothing short of breathtaking.

Relive a frightening display of all-court tennis from @alcarazcarlos03 vs Tsitsipas in Miami ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/p4HgSen7B9

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 30, 2022

The coach’s comments were a cue for the internet to dig out old match videos, slice them and then glue them together side-by-side.

So there’s this one clip where Alcaraz and Djokovic, in two different frames dominating hard-court rallies, are seen moving on the baseline, swinging their rackets with choreographed synchronicity.

Right down to ‘pursed lips and cocky nods’ celebration after the sharp-angle cross-court forehand winner, the young Spainard looked like the Serbian legend’s identical tennis twins.

Rafa’s fast feet, Djokovic’s forehand and, as some observed, Andre Agassi’s racket-speed – Alcaraz was made to look like some Frankenstein programmed to hit monstrous forehands.

A bit of independent you-tubing on forehands throws up Sergi Bruguera, the master clay-courter from the 90s. His whip-like forehand would be the result of the racket taking the trajectory of a plane taking off while hitting the ball. Alcaraz’s shot-making shape and racket path too is similar.

Carlos Alcaraz is a human highlight reel.

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 1, 2022

More surfing and you bump into another lookalike. The young champion’s blank brooding face is a throwback to Pete Sampras from the early days. A highly imaginative commentator had said Sampras has the face of a shy impressionable teen who is likely to fall for an older woman. But we digress.

Still a kid at heart 🧡@alcarazcarlos03 #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/P9MQH6HKX6

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 3, 2022

Maybe, numbed by the greatness thrust on him, Alcaraz has insisted that he wants to be just Carlos Alcaraz. The trivia about a picture of him with Federer by the bedside adds another layer of intrigue.

But that hasn’t hurt the Spaniards. Nadal once during a press conference looked distracted. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the media room television airing one Alcaraz game.

When a reporter told him that his countryman was trailing, Nadal smiled and said there are still many games to play. It wasn’t too long before Alcaraz justified Nadal’s faith and finished the game.

The latest tennis star to emerge from Spain is in a way an outlier but he also represents the legacy of this great tennis nation.

What separates him from Nadal is his press on the court. Since his days on the junior circuit, Alcaraz finishes most rallies from inside the baseline. You were never dismissed as another Spanish back-court slugger. He is an eager beaver always on his toes to catch the ball early and throw the kitchen sink at it.

Alcaraz’s overall game is also a tribute to a system that values wisdom passed down through generations and one that encourages organically-evolved original thinking.

One important weapon that Alcaraz possesses is the drop shot that glides the length of his side of the court and has just enough strength to cross the net and sink. He also has a lob that sails over his 6 plus opponents and kisses the baseline.

These two unconventional hard-to-pull-off strokes in crunch moments break the rhythm of his opponents and help him win those points at 40-30.

Alcaraz is a perfect brand ambassador of the many clay-court academies that are littered across Spain. For years these are assembly lines where kids check in after their school in the afternoon and leave late at night.

In a delightful Dan Kiernan podcast Control the Controllables two old-hand Spanish coaches Bruno Argudo and Juan Beaus paint a vivid picture of these tennis schools while talking about a culture that is very different from the academies around the world where kids pay for ‘hourly sessions’.

Between completing their homework, kids get enough time for endless sets. They travel for tournaments in groups. When not playing they sit next to their coaches, who between sips of coffee talk about strategies for different match situations.

The rise of Carlos Alcaraz 📈

April 2020: World No. 318
April 2021: World No. 120
April 2022: World No. 11 (from Monday)

What's next for @alcarazcarlos03? pic.twitter.com/xC53jvqknB

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 3, 2022

The clay courts too have a role. On the podcast these slow surfaces are called the “assistant coaches”. They teach you patience, hone your court craft and never allows you to be complacent. There are no easy points since the ball doesn’t fly off the court. It is a tough grind. In a month’s time, the latest Spanish sensation will be in Paris and his pedigree makes him one among the favourites.

✨ from @alcarazcarlos03 🇪🇸#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/0EI9Zcs7tW

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) April 6, 2022

Alcaraz may be different but it’s his grooming that makes him true to the Vamos-yelling tribe that has pitched their tents on many clay courts around the world.

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National Sports Editor