Sinner seen? Alcaraz is less scary after the knockout with De Minaur in his first match in 2025, the new racket slows down Carlos

It opens with a defeat in the exhibition match against Alex de Minaur (winning by 7-5 4-6 10-5) within theOpening Week dell’Australian Open the 2025 of Carlos Alcarazwho seems to have not yet found the right solution with the changes made to the racket. A knockout. which, although it arrived in an unofficial match, takes away a bit of security from the Spaniard in view of theAustralian Openwhere it aims to disrupt the dominance of Jannik Sinner on hard courts and complete the career Golden Slam.

Alcaraz gets off to a bad start in 2025: knockout. with De Minaur

Although it was a simple exhibition match, the one between Carlos Alcaraz e Alex de Minaur all’Opening Week dell’Australian Open it was a real match. Both players tested their conditions and their level in view of the first slam event of the season. In the end it was the Australian who prevailed – who had already taken the field in the United Cup – at the end of a battle lasting over two hours which ended in the match tie break with the result of 7-5 4-6 10-5.

Contrary to From Minaur, Alcaraz he was the protagonist of a fluctuating performance with too many missed passes especially in key moments, such as when he came back from 4-1 down in the first set and in the super tie break that decided the match.

The changes slow down Carlitos

The changes made to the racket also seem to be the cause of Carlitos’ fluctuating performance. For 2025 Alcaraz has in fact decided to weigh down its instrument with an addition of 5 grams in the heart of the frame to release even more power in impacts with the ball. However, the Spaniard seems not to have yet digested the news, highlighting some problems in controlling his shots and going overboard on several occasions with the two fundamentals.

Now Alcaraz is less scary to Sinner

This defeat, although we reiterate that it was only a performance and therefore closer to training, risks taking away some of the security from Alcarazwhich has little time left to assimilate the changes made in view of theAustralian Opena major where so far in his career he has never reached the quarter-finals and where he has the arduous task of stopping the hardcourt slam domination of Jannik Sinnerwhich appeared instead immediately in great strength in his first outing of the season against Alexei Popyrin and shows up at the starting line of theHappy Slam as main favourite.

Indeed, perhaps almost as the only favorite at this point also considering the injury suffered by him Alexander Zverevand Novak Djokovic that despite Andy Murray doesn’t seem to have turned a corner yet after the complicated 2024 and Alcaraz who has less access to slam in the Australian one and who after today appears to have some more uncertainty than in the past.