Carlos Alcaraz slammed for 'embarrassing' U.S. Open comments

Carlos Alcaraz showed a different side to himself when he appeared alongside Emma Raducanu, his new mixed doubles partner, to promote the inaugural U.S. Open mixed doubles event. 

The Spaniard called Raducanu "the boss" of their team and said he was excited to have "fun" on the court with his partner. 

The lighthearted nature of Alcaraz's comments has irked former singles World No. 10 Kristina Mladenovic, a winner of nine major doubles and three mixed doubles titles. 

“When you hear Alcaraz or others say they’re going to have fun while preparing for the U.S. Open, it's embarrassing," she told EuroSport France. "A Grand Slam is neither preparation nor fun. It's years of sacrifice. When you're young, you dream of winning one, even in doubles. You don't want to see your sport turn into a gigantic spectacle, even if it will indeed bring in a lot of money."

The criticism seems entirely unwarranted. Alcaraz and Raducanu were filming promotional content to generate interest in a new concept introduced by the USTA, which could gain popularity and spread to other majors in the coming years. 

As former World No. 1 Andy Roddick noted, the event is an exhibition one, akin to the NBA All-Star Game, and aims to generate fan interest in the main event — the singles U.S. Open draw. As such, there's nothing preposterous about players having "fun" the weekend before the real tennis begins. 

Also, Alcaraz, a five-time major winner at 22, has more than earned the right to let his hair down once in a while. If he wins the upcoming Wimbledon, he'll become just the fourth player to achieve a three-peat at the grass-court major, and the youngest ever to win six Grand Slam titles, surpassing Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal.