"Carlos Alcaraz needs to change up a little": Jimmy Connors advises Spaniard to fix form dip to stay ahead of Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune & others

American tennis icon Jimmy Connors recently offered some words of advice to Carlos Alcaraz as the young Spaniard faces a dip in form.

Alcaraz's tennis performance has taken a hit since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Cincinnati Masters final. That defeat came a month after he triumphed over the Serb to secure his second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.

Since then, it has been a rocky road for the Spaniard. He failed to reach the final of any tournament, with his subpar form in 2024 adding fuel to the fire.

Alcaraz bid adieu to the Australian Open in the quarterfinals this year, followed by a semifinal exit at the Argentina Open and an opening-round exit at Rio. In the latter, he had to retire hurt from his match against Thiago Monteiro.

Jimmy Connors has now weighed in on Carlos Alcaraz's recent struggles during an episode of the 'Advantage Connors' podcast. The American suggested that one reason for the 20-year-old's decline in form could be that other players on the tour have figured out how to beat him.

"At a very young age, he [Carlos Alcaraz] has had some pretty damn good success," Connors said (at 37:20). "But, along with that comes some injuries which we know about. I think some of the players have realized just how to play him or how he plays. What he did so well at the beginning kinda caught them off guard. Maybe they have caught on to that a little bit."

The former World No. 1 then advised the two-time Major champion to make small adjustments to his game to "offset" his opponents. He said (at 39:00):

"Maybe he needs to change up a little bit and try to figure out something else. It's not a big move, it's just tiny little scratches along the way that maybe he can change to kinda offset his opponents a little bit."

"He might be going through a little bit of a downtime. But, you can see he enjoys the game, he works hard at the game and to continue to be at the top of the game, he is gonna have to stay with that," Connors added.

Connors also said that with Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic nearing the end of their careers, young talents like Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune are aiming to seize their chance in the spotlight.

"[Jannik] Sinner's coming up and there is [Holger] Rune. A lot of these guys see that [Roger] Federer's gone and [Rafael] Nadal might wait through the French and play the Olympics. Who knows what happens, Djoker still playing," the American said (at 39:40).

"All these kids are trying to say, 'Okay, this could be me now. Could be my turn now.' They are starting to play like it and they are gonna make it nothing but tougher for each other," he added.

---

Carlos Alcaraz provides injury update, looks forward to Indian Wells & Las Vegas exhibition with Rafael Nadal

Carlos Alcaraz pictured at the 2024 Rio Open

Carlos Alcaraz shared an update on his ankle injury, revealing that an MRI showed a Grade 2 lateral sprain, which will sideline him from the courts for a few days

Despite this setback, Alcaraz said that he was looking forward to his upcoming Las Vegas exhibition match against Rafael Nadal on March 3 and the Indian Wells Masters (March 6-17).

"I just had an MRI on my ankle after yesterday’s injury," Alcaraz wrote. "After the meeting with my doctor @drlopezmartinez and my physiotherapists @juanjo_moreno_m and @sergiokine the diagnosis is a grade II lateral sprain. I have a sprain that will keep me out for a few days! See you in Las Vegas and Indian Wells!"