Boris Becker offers surprising take on Carlos Alcaraz's fitness battles

Boris Becker has weighed in on Carlos Alcaraz' recent fitness struggles, describing it as growing pains that all young players have to deal with.

Opinions are divided on whether Alcaraz's 2023 season lived up to the promise of his breakthrough year in 2022, with some feeling his form has dipped.

However, the young Spaniard did still enjoy a lot of success in the past year, winning five titles in all - including a second Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon.

He did miss several tournaments through injury, however, a hamstring problem keeping him out of the Australian Open, while various complaints also ruled him out of the likes of the Monte-Carlo Masters, Swiss Indoors Basel and Mexican Open.

With Alcaraz still being only 20 years old, some have sounded the alarm over the frequency of his injuries at such a young age, but six-time Grand Slam champion Becker doesn't agree and reckons it's purely due to a lack of discipline on the youngster's part - a problem he is sure to solve as he gets older.

"When motivation weakens, the body also suffers. If you skip one or two training sessions. That's what happened to me. It's happened to every successful 20-year-old," Becker told the Eurosport Podcast 'Das Gelbe vom Ball'.

Becker said he had faith in Alcaraz and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero to devise a training regime and playing schedule that will prevent the young phenom from getting hurt.

Alcaraz's camp has already confirmed he won't be playing any warm-up events before next month's Australian Open, choosing to restrict his preparation to the practice courts.

"I am convinced, with Carlos Ferrero at his side, that Carlos is going into the winter break highly motivated and is looking forward to Melbourne and the new season," former World No 1 Becker said.

"We'll have to see what happens. I saw him live in Turin [at the ATP Finals], also in training. He was physically fit.

"I'm convinced that the two of them will come up with the right solution. Nobody likes to be injured. The question is, what are you missing: will you get back to training sessions where you can strengthen your back or thighs? But Juan Carlos and Carlos know exactly how to do that."

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