When you look at him from behind the court, it’s like, “How can anyone play this sport better?”
John Isner
Djokovic’s example
Isner pointed Novak Djokovic as proof that service can transform over a career. “You saw Novak improve his serve from the middle to the end of his career and he was just booming,” the American said.
Alcaraz is already at work
Alcaraz did not wait for the advice. Before the Laver Cup in September, he adjusted his serve with a lower toss and a change in the position of his left foot. When asked about it during a recent press conference, the Spaniard explained that he wanted to copy what he saw on the biggest servers.
“I’ve watched the best servers in history. Obviously height matters, how tall you are. But the best servers all have that balance, back to front,” he said. “I couldn’t do it before, so I changed the movement a little bit. I tried to have more balance and make the movement smoother. I would say toss and balance is everything when serving.”
“I felt a lot better on the serve and I think in Vienna we can see a big improvement in that stroke. I’m really happy about that.”
Carlos Alcaraz
What do the numbers say?
The ATP stats over the past 52 weeks partially support Isner. Alcaraz is ranked 13th in the ATP Serve Rating on tour. He ranks in the top 10 in first serves (7th), second serve points (8th) and service games (6th), but is only 39th in first serve points and 59th in aces per game, averaging 4.8.
Those numbers cover a full year, most of it before the change. In Paris, Alcaraz defeated Alex Michelsen, Taylor Fritz, Casper Rudd and Ben Shelton en route to the championship. The ATP Finals kicks off on Sunday, November 15, with the group stage draw on Thursday.