Greg Rusedski takes a swipe at Carlos Alcaraz and brings up Jannik Sinner

Greg Rusedski didn’t mince words in the latest episode of his podcast “Off Court.” The former Top 5 player, analyzing Carlos Alcaraz’s loss to Ben Shelton in the US Open quarterfinals, identified a specific tactical error and criticized the Murcia native by comparing his on-court behavior to that of Jannik Sinner, who has won nine of his ten head-to-head matches against the American, losing only the very first one in 2023.

According to Rusedski, Alcaraz chose a strategy that proved counterproductive against a player with a very powerful serve like Shelton. “Alcaraz returned from too deep too often, while Ben had no trouble coming to the net. Thank goodness there’s still someone who does that.” For Rusedski, the problem is simple: by staying so far back, Alcaraz gave Shelton time and options, allowing him to exploit his explosiveness.

“I’d like to see Carlos step up a bit more—Sinner does that,” said Rusedski. That’s also why Jannik always plays so well against Shelton: he reads the game excellently, steps into the court, and hits the ball early.” Rusedski did, however, acknowledge the American’s merits and pointed out that Alcaraz was coming off a four-and-a-half-month layoff: “It was still impressive what he did in his first week back on the court.”

The message from the Montreal native—who decided to become a British citizen in 1995—remains clear, however: Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat stemmed from a wrong tactical choice, and the matchup against Sinner—now one of the best readers of the game on the tour—highlights this even more, in his opinion.