Jimmy Connors has strong opinions on Carlos Alcaraz's future

Jimmy Connors knows what it takes and the adjustments one must make to become a great tennis player. Connors won 8 Grand Slams and was ranked at No. 1 for a combined 268 weeks. In other words, he knows what he speaks when he says that while Carlos Alcaraz is a great player he might need to do something different to truly reach his best.

On a recent episode of his podcast, Advantage Connors, the tennis great said he believes the young Spaniard needs to change to not let players such as Jannik Sinner catch up to him, but even Connors did not have the answer to what that might be. Is Alcaraz too aggressive? Maybe, but Connors could not pinpoint the issue.

Connors implied high praise for Holger Rune actually and may have misspoken about Jannik Sinner. In comparing Alcaraz to those two young players, Connors said that Sinner is still growing into his own but Rune was already in correct form. The reality is that Sinner has won five titles since last August and Alcaraz zero. Rune has gone through almost as many coaches as Sinner has titles.

Jimmy Connors shares thoughts about Carlos Alcaraz

About Alcaraz, however, Connors said, "Maybe Alcaraz needs to change a little bit and try to figure out something else. It's not a big move, just little scratches along the way that maybe he can change to counterbalance his opponents a little bit...Jannik Sinner is coming and Holger Rune is there."

Possibly Connors meant Rune is close to being at the same level as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Rune trails the head-to-head against Alcaraz 2-1. Sinner leads the head-to-head over Alcaraz 4-3. All three players are 22 years old or younger and all are ranked in the top seven on the ATP tour. Only Alcaraz has so far reached No. 1, though Sinner has not lost this year and could be on his way to claiming the top spot.

Connors' issue with Alcaraz is the same as many tennis fans and commentators, though. The Spaniard obviously has the talent to win any event he enters, but he has not won a tournament since Wimbledon last July. What is wrong exactly? Who knows? And that includes Jimmy Connors.

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