By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday May 5, 2022
Carlos Alcaraz turns 19 today, and that’s cause for celebration for his fans. As far as his peers on tour, the continued maturation and blossoming of the Spaniard is cause for concern.
The World No 9 is getting real good - real fast! But that didn’t stop top ATP stars like Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov from singing Alcaraz’s praises in a tribute video this week.
It’s pretty clear from what top players say that they expect Alcaraz to be a giant star in the sport.
Nadal said as much at Indian Wells, after defeating Alcaraz in the semifinals in March. “I don't have many doubts that he will be great,” Nadal said. “He is already, by the way,”
Djokovic is blown away by the Spaniard as well.
“He’s not an up and coming player anymore – he’s already an established top player,” Djokovic said. “His rise to the top 10 of the world is incredible and super fast. To show that much maturity, mentally, also gamewise 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 former champions and I think we all agree that he is the future of the men’s tennis, but also the present.”
Djokovic, who will face Alcaraz in the semifinals on Saturday in Madrid, talked about the 19-year-old on Friday.
"I love to watch him play, as a lot of other players on the tour," he told reporters. "I praise his game without a doubt. He's fantastic for our sport, no doubt. I think it's great that we have a young player who is doing so well and giving a new fresh breath to the tennis world. Seeing that and knowing that he's a very nice guy, very humble with good values, is a perfect combination."
Rublev points out that Alcaraz isn’t just a great player, he’s also a passionate one – one of the key reasons that so many fans seem to gravitate to the youngster.
“The way he’s playing you can see that he is a really, really dangerous player and if he will do everything right he will achieve so many things,” Rublev said. “In the end, you can see in the short term that he achieved unreal things. I can see that he also really is in love with tennis, you can see fire in his eyes. You can see that he is not here because of the life he can get from tennis, he is here because he just likes tennis no matter what, and this I really respect.”
Denis Shapovalov and Alexander Zverev also put in their two cents on the force that could be a thorn in their sides for years to come.
“He’s so good,” says Shapovalov. “At such a young age, he’s got every shot in the book, his fighting spirit – he’s an awesome, awesome player.”
“He’s a top player now, he’s a top-10 player, he’s one of the best in the world. He’s not the future of the sport anymore, he’s the right now,” Zverev said. “He’s something that the sport might have never seen before, he’s gonna win Grand Slams, he’s gonna be world No.1 in my opinion. He’s an incredible fighter on the court but he is an incredible person as well.”
With still a year left of being a teenager, Carlos Alcaraz has plenty of time to make good on his promise. And four more Grand Slams to become the first teenager to win a men’s singles Grand Slam title since Rafael Nadal stormed his way to the Roland-Garros title in 2005 at the age of 19 years and 3 days.
Can he do it? Time will tell. For now he’ll enjoy his birthday – and his rise.