Carlos Alcaraz calls on tennis chiefs to change one key rule: “It’s not great for the fans or for us”

Carlos Alcaraz didn’t hold back after being warned for a time violation during his marathon win over fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar on Thursday. The world No. 3 described the rule as unfair and suggested that it needs to be changed.

“Yes, I think so,” said Alcaraz when asked in his post-match press conference whether the rule should be revised.

“They need to show a bit more flexibility with it. We’ve been playing for three hours, we just finished a long point at the net – they should allow for a bit of leeway and give us more time. There are plenty of situations where everything slows down and the clock keeps ticking, and we just can’t get ready for the next point. And when you can’t prepare properly for the next point, you can’t play it properly either – which I think hurts the show.”

“It’s not great for the fans or for us either,” he added. “Personally, I try to go as fast as I can. I don’t remember the last time I got a warning for taking too long, and in the first round I had no issues at all. Today I had several. I don’t get it. I also think the chair umpire was part of the problem – maybe she wanted to be the center of attention today. But anyway, it’s a rule that I think should be changed.”

Alcaraz’s comments came after he battled past Munar in one of the longest matches in the tournament’s history, eventually coming through in three and a half hours.

“There’s very little time to adjust to this surface, to train, to get used to how you need to move – so the more time you spend on court, the better,” he said. “Three and a half hours wasn’t exactly necessary, but obviously this match helps a lot going into what’s next. It gave me very positive feedback on what I need to improve, what I need to do. I played much better tennis than in the first round. I felt a lot better in terms of movement.”

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