Emma Raducanu’s coach, Mark Petchey, shared his thoughts on Joao Fonseca’s statements on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s playing styles, stating that while Alcaraz’s game is more versatile and unpredictable, the Italian tennis star’s play is repetitive. Fonseca stated his opinion following his loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the Miami Open.
However, Petchey did not share the same view as Fonseca and sent a strong warning. Petchey highlighted that although Alcaraz and Sinner were fine with Fonseca’s statement, it can give a wrong impression. He further noted that Sinner has variety and creativity to his game, including drop shots, net play, volleys, and precise shots.
During a conversation on Tennis Channel’s Big T podcast, Petchey clarified that Sinner’s game can be mistaken as robotic, while it actually is consistent:
“I think you have to listen to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. They kind of responded to it and felt as though it was a relatively fair assessment. I do think that we need to be careful, and everyone needs to be careful when you call someone like Jannik robotic. It kind of sets up, you know, this image in your mind that he’s literally out there just sort of, you know, pinging.”
“There’s a lot more to Jannik’s game than just being kind of robotic,” he added.”He’s relentless in this pursuit of excellence. He obviously serves and volleys. He hits quite a few drop shots now compared to what he used to. The skill level to be able to redirect off a line ball back up the line with the accuracy that he does. I think we need to find a better way of conveying, you know the relentlessness, the consistency. I understand how it gets woven into a robotic kind of narrative, but it isn’t robotic.”
Before locking horns with Alcaraz in Florida, Fonseca faced a defeat against the Italian star in the Round of 16 of the Indian Wells Masters.
Rafael Nadal Defends Carlos Alcaraz After Spaniard Exits Sunshine Double Without Victories
Following his dominance at the Australian Open and Qatar Open, Carlos Alcaraz appeared at the Indian Wells Masters. However, he fell short of entering the ultimate round after a loss against Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal. Few days later, he saw his run conclude at the Miami Open in the second round against Sebastian Korda, which raised questions about his momentum. However, the Spanish legend Nadal,
backed the rising star while highlighting his previous wins.
“I mean, when he’s just come off winning the Australian Open, he’s won seven Grand Slams, he’s No. 1 in the world… So, what? Is he supposed to win all the matches in a year?” Nadal said. “That’s never going to happen. So there’s your answer.”
“Are we really going to worry about two defeats? I don’t think so,” Nadal added. “That doesn’t make sense, and we shouldn’t demand more from him.”
Nadal retired from tennis after a legendary career, which saw him winning 22 Grand Slam titles.
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