Carlos Alcaraz is already the star of the next generation

James Richardson 13 Jul 2023 5:03 PM

Carlos Alcaraz Wimbledon

Former Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander believes that Carlos Alcaraz is a unique player destined to be a huge star.

Alcaraz booked his first Wimbledon semi-final with a victory over Holger Rune.

It was noted that Alcaraz brings a smile to the court and plays the game with a joyful spirit.

“I agree with the analysis, but he left out the most important part, because maybe there isn’t a footballer that does it – the smile that he brings to the Centre Court,” Wilander said on Eurosport.

“When there’s pressure, he’s still out there having a great time and you can see he’s having a great time because he’s smiling.

“That is so new. Not even the great Roger Federer did that. Rafa [Nadal] certainly not, Novak [Djokovic] once in a while, but not in the same way.

“Obviously I’m very high on Carlos Alcaraz as a tennis player, but as a human he’s bringing a new thing to tennis that we’ve never had before.”

Wilander believes that Alcaraz is not only a great athlete but also someone who is worth looking up to because of his positive attitude.

“He’s a great tennis player, but also a great role model because of his attitude,” Wilander said.

“He brings the other player into a situation where they are also excited to play against him because there are so many great points, drop shots and lobs, tweeners, then there’s the ‘Vamos!’

“I guess if you’re an opponent you’re like ‘what is he doing, is he playing like an exhibition sometimes?’

“I think the players really enjoy it and when you see the handshakes it’s clear they enjoy playing Carlos whether they beat him or not.”

Alcaraz expects a huge battle when he takes on Daniil Medvedev in the last four.

“I didn’t expect to win 3-0 [against Rune],” Alcaraz said.

“He’s a really tough opponent, I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of great moments.

“We’re going to play a lot of matches as well. I knew that for him it was not easy to play a quarter-final against me in the Centre Court. It was his first time on Centre Court so I expect that but hopefully had a great game.

“The aura that you live on Centre Court is different than the other ones.
“I can only talk with my limited experience, but for me the first time playing on Centre Court was really tough to deal with the nerves about playing in this beautiful court.

“I hope Daniil will feel the same.

“But every player is different and I don’t know how he’s going to feel about playing Centre Court.”