Former top-100 player Nicolas Pereira has one concern about Carlos Alcaraz going forward, despite being in “full force” following his injury comeback.
Alcaraz won his second ATP Tour tournament following his return from a near five-month wrist injury layoff, as he backed up his Tokyo crown with the title in Vienna last weekend.
Despite Alexander Zverev topping the rankings for the first time in his career this week, many would argue that the Spaniard is the best player in the world right now.
Ahead of his Paris Masters quarter-final against Taylor Fritz, former world No 74 Pereira is mightily impressed by what the 23-year-old is producing right now. His only qualm is that he hopes Alcaraz doesn’t play too much tennis.
He said on the Inside-in podcast, “This guy is in full force. He jumped into the deep end of the pool, coming in to the US Open, and he performed better than he expected (quarter-finals). The good news is that he’s healthy.
More Carlos Alcaraz News
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
“If he’s playing back-to-back weeks like this and winning in straight sets, it’s great news for tennis. We need him. We enjoy watching him, and it’s just great to watch him healthy. Please, Carlos, don’t overdo it, OK? Take it easy.”
Pereira does have one main concern, however. Back when Alcaraz was working under Juan Carlos Ferrero, the two Spaniards butted heads over the former’s insistence on going to Ibiza after winning the 2024 French Open.
The pair then split last December, and even though the Colombian thinks the world No 3 is getting more and more mature, he hopes certain “distractions” don’t lead him astray.
He added, “He just loves the game. I think he studies the game as much as all the great champions that we’ve had, and at a very young age, and he’s only going to mature.
“Perspective must have come his way during the longest time he’s been away from a tennis court and being on top of the tennis world. He has access to the best advice and the best information. And I’m sure he profited from it.
“I am afraid with the distractions for him, and I think if he manages to overcome that, we’re going to have a great, wonderful decade in front of us.”
Since Ferrero’s exit, Samuel Lopez has been Alcaraz’s main coach. Alongside his brother Alvaro Alcaraz and agent Albert Molina, among others, Perreira believes the seven-time major winner has a good team around him, and they will keep him on the right track.
The two-time title winner said, “He has a great team around him. He’s got a bulldog there that doesn’t let anybody close. So in that sense, he’s well guarded. He’s well surrounded.
“He’s surrounded by family. He’s loved, and his sympathy, his charm is disarming. He has that lightness. He’s able to make a moment that is awkward, making it look nice with that smile. And I think he gets away with a lot because of that character that he has, the way that he is.”
After the Paris Masters, Alcaraz is set to play in the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals for Spain before ending his season.
WHAT NEXT? Carlos Alcaraz tipped for major coaching change after Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton shake-ups
