Carlos Alcaraz complains of two problems at Paris Masters after Casper Ruud claims he “made a drama”

Carlos Alcaraz complains of two problems at the Paris Masters after claiming Casper Ruud caused “drama”.

Carlos Alcaraz said the 2024 Paris Masters should “slow down a bit” as he believes the courts will be “more interesting” for spectators.

The four-time champion also criticized how “conditions, courts and balls” differ from tournament to tournament, telling tennis coaches “It has to be fine”.

In addition to Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, and Emma Raducanu were questioned about the inconsistency of the balls used at the event. Casper Ruud recently accused players who complain about ball problems of creating “drama.”

“You see players complain about the balls all the time,” the world No 8 told the Nothing Major podcast. “I’m getting so tired of it. Come on. Just play.

“For me, what’s funny is some players come like five days in advance to practice. They string like 28 rackets to get the right tension. Then they come to the fourth round and start complaining about the balls.

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“But it’s been the same balls for the past nine days. What’s the point of bringing it up now to the umpire? Like what is he gonna change? What’s the point? Just to make drama out of nothing.”

After defeating Nicolas Jarry in the second round of the Paris Masters, Alcaraz expressed his feelings about the tournament’s court speed and inconsistent tour conditions.

“It’s really fast for me. Honestly, it depends on the player, you know some players like this speed,” the Spaniard admitted to Tennis TV.

“But I think it should be a little bit slower, just for the tournament, the people — there’s gonna be more rallies, more tennis to watch.

“But yeah, we are tennis players, every week is different, you know, different conditions, different courts, different balls.

“We have to get used to it, but at some point, it should be different, it should be better. But you know, we can’t do anything about it.”

Alcaraz told Spanish media that the Paris Masters track will be the fastest track of the 2024 season.

“Faster than Cincinnati? (laughs). This court is very slippery. We have to get used to it, there is no other way,” the 21-year-old said.

“For tennis, for the spectators, not having so many exchanges is difficult. I would have played it a little slower, to make it more exciting.

“Today, I felt very good on the court. In these conditions, you have to put in more hours.”