Patrick Mouratoglou believes that Carlos Alcaraz does have a consistency issue, but he is finding a way to win ugly.
Alcaraz won his first title since returning from a four-month injury layoff when he lifted the Japan Open trophy earlier this week.
The Spaniard repeatedly had his serve broken throughout the ATP 500 tournament and came through two three-setters but was the last man standing in Tokyo.
Now, Serena Williams’ former coach Mouratoglou has praised the seven-time major winner’s fighting spirit, while adding that there is room to improve.
Moreover, the Frenchman, who is Stefanos Tsitsipas’ part-time coach, feels that Alcaraz is back to being 100 per cent injury-wise and the rest of the ATP Tour should watch out.
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He said in an Instagram video, “We all have this image of Alcaraz playing incredible tennis, but I think his greatest quality is being able to win when he plays badly. And that’s exactly what he did last week.
“He makes a lot of unforced errors. The power is there, everything is there to hit the ball with power, but he’s lacking consistency a lot. He played well enough to win, and he found ways to win.
“If the question was, is his wrist 100%? I think the answer is yes. If the question was, is he still into tennis? The answer is yes, because he didn’t play great and he won. If the question is, is he back? The answer is yes, he’s back.”
The 23-year-old made his return to tennis at the US Open, where he lost to eventual finalist Ben Shelton in a five-set epic in the quarter-finals.
The former world No 1 impressed at the Laver Cup for Team Europe in late September, before defending his title in Tokyo.
Alcaraz began his Shanghai Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Saturday, and next up, he faces Zizou Bergs in round three of the Masters 1000 event.
It remains to be seen how much more tennis he will play this season, although some believe he will go all out to win the ATP Finals for the first time. For now though, tennis fans are just pleased to have him back.
