Carlos Alcaraz did not at all like the experimentation underway this week at Queen’s and Halle on the length of the pause between one point and another. In fact, in the two grass tournaments taking place between London and Germany a new rule is being tested in which the 25-second clock starts immediately after the point concludes, not when the referee calls the score as usual. The Spaniard argued with referee Lahyani during his match lost against Draper at Queen’s and after the match he admitted that he was not satisfied with the news.
“Lahyani told me that there are new rules, this new thing, that the clock never stops. Once the point is over, the clock starts,” Alcaraz said after the match. “I think it’s something bad for the player. I finish the point at the net and almost didn’t have time to ask for the balls. I’m not saying go to the towel and take my time. It’s crazy. I only have time to ask for two balls and no rebounds before serving.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this in tennis. If you play a long point or end up at the net, you only have time to go get a towel or do your routine; you ask, in my case, four balls, and you concentrate on the next point, just making the bounces to serve in the best way possible. Today I felt like I was always in a rush. I didn’t have time to do my routine. Obviously it’s something negative for the players.”
Once the controversy over this experiment was over, Alcaraz stated that he wanted to stay in London to prepare for Wimbledon, despite the premature defeat in the tournament in which he was reigning champion: “I think the best way to improve on grass is to stay here, train with the players, physically do specific training on grass and movement. In Spain or at my house, we don’t have grass pitches just for training. I’ll stay here. I’m close to Wimbledon, so as soon as I can I’ll focus on training with the players, training and everything else, and hope to improve” concludes Carlos.
Mario Cecchi
