WATCH: ATP Tour stars share their thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz has been impressing his peers long before he lifted the Wimbledon trophy.
Alcaraz finished last season as the youngest-ever year-end No 1 after his maiden Grand Slam win at the US Open.
His maturity and incredible rise to stardom has attracted the attention of his fellows on the ATP Tour.
Alcaraz’s idol Rafael Nadal has been the first to congratulate the young man on his incredible achievements.
“He doesn’t have to look at me anymore. He’s a star already and he’s doing amazing things,” Nadal said.
In 2022, Novak Djokovic labelled him not only the future but the now of men’s tennis.
“He’s not anymore a young and up and coming player, he’s already established top player,” Djokovic said.
“And his rise to the to the top 10 of the world was is incredible, and super fast.
“To show that much maturity, mentally also game-wise for someone who is 18 years old is very, very impressive.
“There’s a lot of superlatives going around for him and his game from many different champions, former champions, and I think we all agree that, you know, he is the future of the men’s tennis, but also present because of everything he has achieved so far this year.”
Nadal sees a lot of himself in Alcaraz with the Raging Bull the prototype for men’s tennis prodigies in the 21st century.
“When you are young, and when you are very good. The process is faster than than normal people know.
“So he’s not a normal guy. Like Novak was not the normal guy like Roger was not the normal guy probably me it was not the normal guy or Sasha [Alexander Zverev] or these kind of guys that have the, the level at very young age. So then make the transition to the very highest level very quick.
“And that’s what, that’s what he did. And he’s already there, like, one of the big favourites to achieve every single tournament that he is playing.
Alexander Zverev agreed that Alcaraz was nailed on to be a big star, predicting that he would rise to the top of the rankings and win Grand Slams.
“He’s not the future of the sport anymore. He’s the right now. He is something that the sport might have never seen before. So he’s gonna win Grand slams, he’s gonna be world No 1, in my opinion. He’s always respectful. He respects the top guys that were there for a long time. He is fair on the court, which I put a lot of, you know, attention to, because I think there’s a lot of players that they’re trying to win the wrong way. He’s always trying to win just purely with playing tennis. And for me, that alone makes me a fan of his.”
