Carlos Alcaraz’s Laver Cup heroics banished a big myth he helped to promote

The words of Carlos Alcaraz after he was comfortably beaten 6-3 6-2 by Novak Djokovic at last year’s ATP Finals in Turin may need to be revised after the events at the Laver Cup. Roll the clock back to last November and Alcaraz was in a very different place with his confidence on indoor hard courts after a series of comprehensive defeats against Jannik Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov, before he was stunned by Roman Safiullin at the Paris Masters.

After losing against Alexander Zverev and Djokovic at the ATP Finals, he offered up an honest assessment of where he felt his game compared to the best in the game on an indoor surface. “I feel like I am not at his level in indoor court, obviously,” said Alcaraz as he spoke about Djokovic after his comprehensive loss in Turin. “I’ve played great matches in Wimbledon, in Cincinnati, in Roland Garros. I felt in that match that I’m at the level. Obviously, he has more experience than me playing in these tournaments, in these courts.”

Now, just under a year later, those words seem outdated. Alcaraz’s magnificent year has included wins at the French Open and Wimbledon, but he must have headed into this phase of the years with some doubts in his mind given his lack of confidence on indoor hard courts.

A shock US Open defeat against Dutchman Botic van De Zandschulp inspired some observers to suggest a jaded Alcaraz could consider ending his season early and coming back revived for another challenge next year. Yet he has confirmed that there is still plenty left for him to chase over the next few weeks by guiding Spain to the Davis Cup Finals with some fine displays in front of his adoring home fans last week.

That was before he took centre stage at the Laver Cup, securing victory for Team Europe with a brilliant performance against Taylor Fritz in the decisive singles match. Alcaraz’s performance in that event, as well at the Paris Masters and ATP Finals in Turin may give us a better indication of where he is at in his development on indoor hard courts. Yet the evidence from Berlin offered a compelling picture of a player who has found a way to make his game work on what was a slow indoor court.

Alcaraz’s under-rated first serve, the depth of his shot and his ability to play his best tennis on the most important points were too much for Team World’s Ben Shelton and Fritz.