The best and the worst of the Alcaraz vs. de Miñaur match

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Carlos Alcaraz played his first match of 2025 in an exhibition event against Alex de Miñaur at the Rod Laver Arena. We were all eager, as the Murcian could put into practice against a top player everything he had worked on during the preseason. We will detail what we liked the most and the least from Alcaraz's first match of the season, where he was defeated by 5-7 6-4 (5-10).

Ferrero explained that they had paid special attention during this preseason to Carlos's focus during matches, considering that he had too many ups and downs during games. It was not the best day to put it into practice, as an exhibition match tends to have more show than real tension, but this was something that El Palmar's player did not excel at.

What we liked the most from Carlos against De Miñaur:

-His new serve motion

Very fluid. It improves what he had been doing so far. He just needs to get completely used to this new technique. It can add an extra speed boost and cause a lot of damage when needed. On this quick court, it can be really beneficial for him.

-His forehand was impactful when it landed

The extra 5 grams he added to the racket allows him to hit with more power, and his forehand is even more harmful. When he's on the offensive, if he controls it well, he can cause a lot of trouble.

-Always magical

He shined at the net with his volleys and was very precise when closing points at the net.

What we liked the least from Alcaraz against De Miñaur:

-Too many errors

A lot. He made seven errors just in the final supertiebreak. Too many inaccuracies. He needs to better control his feel with the racket. When you gain speed, you lose control. He has to spend many more minutes in his practices in Melbourne to control the ball and not end up with 40 errors like in this match.

-Too predictable

Being aggressive and coming to the net to surprise the opponent can be a good tactic occasionally. Doing it more frequently makes him predictable and, above all, leaves him vulnerable to passing shots by the opponent. In the final supertiebreak, De Miñaur hit two easy passing shots and a lob to score points on Alcaraz's net approaches. He's already too well known for coming to the net when the point doesn't call for it.

-His backhand was missing for a large part of the match

Carlos was seen practicing his backhand motion after missing two clear shots in the final supertiebreak. On a court like the Australian one, where everything happens very quickly and the ball bounces very low at night, you have to be very alert to minimize errors in this area.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Lo mejor y lo peor del partido de Alcaraz ante Alex de Miñaur