{"id":1859566,"date":"2026-04-01T14:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1859566"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:40:00","slug":"carlos-alcaraz-set-for-full-clay-court-swing-as-coach-plays-down-jannik-sinner-no-1-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1859566","title":{"rendered":"Carlos Alcaraz set for full clay-court swing as coach plays down Jannik Sinner No 1 threat"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Carlos Alcaraz set for full clay-court swing as coach plays down Jannik Sinner No 1 threat<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/oliver-paton\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Oliver Paton                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"01 Apr 2026 3:40 PM\" data-ps-date=\"01 Apr 2026 3:40 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1775054400\"><br \/>\n                            01 Apr 2026 3:40 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                    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<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Carlos Alcaraz set for full clay-court swing as coach plays down Jannik Sinner No 1 threat\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Carlos-Alcaraz-Samuel-Lopez-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Carlos Alcaraz and coach Samuel Lopez.\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz and coach Samuel Lopez.                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s coach has revealed that the Spaniard intends to play a full clay-court season and will not be distracted by the No 1 ranking \u2018drama\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The world No 2 will arrive at the clay-court season on the back of a shock to Sebastian Korda in the third round of the Miami Open.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/carlos-alcaraz\">Alcaraz<\/a> is next scheduled to compete at the Monte-Carlo Masters, which takes place from April 5 \u2013 12.<\/p>\n<p>At last year\u2019s edition, he defeated Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the final to win his maiden title in Monaco.<\/p>\n<p>Just a few days later, he was in action at the Barcelona Open as the two-time defending champion \u2013 falling to Holger Rune 7-6(6), 6-1 in the final.<\/p>\n<p>The heavy schedule contributed towards an abductor injury during the showpiece match, forcing him to withdraw from the Madrid Masters.<\/p>\n<p>After a period of rest and recovery, he returned to win titles at the Italian Open and the French Open.<\/p>\n<p>This year, Samuel Lopez \u2013 Alcaraz\u2019s main coach \u2013 has made clear that the world No 1 intends to play all five tournaments, if he remains healthy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s see, in principle we\u2019re going with the idea of playing everything, of playing the whole swing, you know,\u201d revealed Lopez during an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?is=zIjNo2cDCy0A6Epi&amp;v=0qVfExXTI8Y&amp;feature=youtu.be\">interview with Eurosport ES<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMonte Carlo \u2013 if things had gone well, if things had gone better in Miami \u2013 we would probably have skipped it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut in this case, well, Monte Carlo is going to be more of a preparation tournament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing is, you already know that sometimes those preparation tournaments\u2026 you get up to speed very quickly. But for us, Monte Carlo is more like last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens is that last year things worked out and in the end it was won, but in the end going to the first clay tournament and winning it, well, for almost everyone it\u2019s the first clay tournament, so almost everyone is in the same conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea is to try to manage it and arrive as well as possible at Roland Garros, at 100%. We\u2019ll see what happens along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/french-open\/former-world-no-1-picks-favourite-french-open-glory-jannik-sinner-carlos-alcaraz\">Former world No 1 picks favourite for French Open glory out of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/carlos-alcaraz-coach-tells-spaniard-avoid-showing-weaknesses-miami-open-loss\">Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s coach tells Spaniard to avoid showing \u2018weaknesses\u2019 after Miami Open loss<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Whilst Alcaraz enjoyed a healthy lead at the top of the rankings after his victory at the Rotterdam Open, his lead has been severely slimmed down to 1190 by Sinner\u2019s victories at the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Open.<\/p>\n<p>However, the clay-court swing presents a far tougher points defence for Alcaraz, who has 4,330 points to protect compared to Sinner\u2019s 1,950.<\/p>\n<p>The Italian would be able to leapfrog his rival on April 13 if he is victorious at the Monte-Carlo Masters \u2013 regardless of Alcaraz\u2019s Monaco performance.<\/p>\n<p>2025 provided for a photo finish in the race for the year-end No 1 status, with just 550 points between the pair after the conclusion of the Nitto ATP Finals.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the exciting storyline, Lopez insists that his pupil will not be distracted by the \u2018drama\u2019, instead focusing on his self-improvement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, it\u2019s something we have to talk about again,\u201d admitted the coach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s something that is talked about, but yes. I think he understands that it can happen, and that it\u2019s not a drama.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s already happened to him before. In the end, being No 1, No 4, what matters is that you see that you\u2019re evolving, that you\u2019re ready for the big moments and able to keep adding titles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. 1 is a consequence of consistency over the whole year. This is a long-distance race. We\u2019ll see, at different moments one defends points, then another does.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the end, whoever finishes as No 1 will deserve it. There\u2019s no need to give it more importance than it has.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Carlos Alcaraz set for full clay-court swing as coach plays down Jannik Sinner No 1 threat Oliver Paton 01 Apr 2026 3:40 PM Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz and coach Samuel Lopez. Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s coach has revealed that the Spaniard intends to play a full clay-court season and will not be distracted by the No [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1859566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1859566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859566\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1859566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1859566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1859566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}