Andre Agassi pinpoints the area of Carlos Alcaraz’s game that he’s changed recently which he loves

However, it seems like he clearly has the drive needed to become an all-time great, as he is not content with merely stagnating.

That is, despite Toni Nadal suggesting Alcaraz quit tennis if he is not willing to commit wholeheartedly to the cause.

Already he is working to prove him and many others wrong, and in turn, is gaining the favour of an American tennis legend.

Andre Agassi praises Carlos Alcaraz’s progression

Asked by the panel at TNT Sports his thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz, naturally, Agassi was more than happy to wax lyrical about this mercurial Spaniard.

After all, he’s never been shy of making his love for the youngster known, using this opportunity to highlight an improvement he’s noticed in recent weeks.

He began by comparing his current form at the French Open to last year’s: ‘I do like the adjustments he’s made. I mean, So here’s last year, right?

‘He’s taking the ball up higher, his right arm’s a little bent, right? So the racket head’s going up long before it comes down. And when you’ve got a guy like this, if you freeze it right there, the arm’s slightly bent, he’s taking it up pretty darn high.

‘Now he has to drop it, get underneath, pull through with the right hand and finish. The dude is so fast-twitched that really what he has in his backhand there is just a variable that he doesn’t even have to deal with. This is a year it’s different.

‘Look how he’s taking this ball with his racket back. He takes it back with the straight right arm. His left is way under control.

Agassi then turned the tweak into a golf metaphor: ‘So what happens when you take… When I used to take the ball, it’s a great way to simplify it. Like a golf swing, right?

‘You get to the top of your swing, you have that pause, and you drop in the slot, and then you let it go. He’s getting himself to that slot right away, and that’s what I love about it, because that not only gives him an option to sort of settle down some misfires, but he can hold the ball longer. When you watch here, like, because of what he’s doing, his racket face is already closed.

‘That ball can travel deeper than that ball track travel deeper in the strike zone. They don’t know if he’s gonna hold pull across, or if he’s in a hold, and just go inside off line, and he can just leave his opponent with their jock strap on the ground.

‘Because in tennis, power and control comes from time spent on racket with the ball. I don’t care how you swing. If you swing like Nadal, if you swing through, you can keep the ball on the racket for a split second longer, we’re talking about nuances, you got more power, you got more control, and you got more deception. So you’re talking about a guy who’s crazy athletic.’

Carlos Alcaraz needs one characteristic to return to world number one

Of all the sparkling traits that Alcaraz boasts, he lacks a crucial but supremely important one which is preventing him from toppling Jannik Sinner as the world number one: consistency.

Whilst he may have the highest peak in men’s tennis at the moment, when his forehand, drop shots and serve are all firing, there are too many occasions where lulls can see him drop crucial sets or even lose matches in shocking fashion.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s record vs the field (since January 2024)

He is one of the best players in the world, so that does not happen too often, but Sinner simply does not lose to anyone aside from the Spaniard.

If Alcaraz could channel the energy he conjures up for those elite-level clashes with the Italian and utilise it in every match he plays, the tour is there for him to dominate.

Until then, it’s likely that he will continue winning great honours, but struggle to displace the supremely consistent Sinner from his top spot.