Andre Agassi explains why Carlos Alcaraz’s backhand has more power, control and deception

The 1999 French Open champion compared Alcaraz’s backhand shot to last year, when ‘he was taking the ball up higher’. “His right arm’s a little bent, so the racket head’s going up long before it comes down. He’s taking it up pretty darn high. Now he has to drop it, get underneath, pull through with the right hand and finish,” Agassi said. “The dude is so fast twitched that really what he has in his backhand there is just a variable that he doesn’t need to deal with.”

This year, Agassi added, it has been different. “He takes it back with the straight right arm. His left is way under control. 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 the option to sort of settle down some misfires, but he can hold the ball longer. Because of what he’s doing, see his racket face is already closed. That ball can travel deeper. That ball travels deeper in the strike zone.”

The control gives Alcaraz a chance to add deception to his shots, Agassi said, and added that most of his opponents at Roland Garros have been guessing the direction of his shots.

“They don’t know if he’s going to hold, pull it across, or if he’s going to hold and just go inside off line. And he can just leave his opponent with their jockstrap on the ground.

“The guy can go either direction with it 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 that ball in the racket a split second longer. We’re talking about nuances. You’ve got more power, you’ve got more control, and you’ve got more deception. So you’re talking about a guy who’s crazy athletic.”

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