Carlos Alcaraz has been touted as outrageous by London 2012 Olympic Silver medalist Laura Robson who rates Young Spaniard as a real threat for the ATP tour.
Alcaraz returned to #1 ranking after his first title at Indian Wells but couldn’t retain it long enough before conceding it to Novak Djokovic following a defeat against his Italian nemesis Jannik Sinner at Floridian Masters. Despite being unable to defend his title at Miami, Robson seemed impressed by the Spaniard, “Honestly, Alcaraz’s level in that whole tournament (Miami) was insane.”
The 19-year old’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero has since opened up on how his pupil has many things to improve which is something Robson fails to comprehend.
“I kind of struggle to imagine him improving even more, but he’s just got so much more ability that you feel like he could get to, which is almost the scary part for all of his opponents as he continues to develop as a player because you forget how young he is and how little time he’s really spent on the tour, and yet he’s just outrageous,” said the former British No.1.
She continued, “I just love how much he enjoys the challenge of competing, and every match that he plays, whether he’s playing really good or having a bit of a tougher day, it just looks like he loves the competition and playing in front of a crowd, soaking up the atmosphere. He’s just a joy to watch.”
Robson also spoke about the rivalry shared between Alcaraz and Sinner, with the duo once again providing a blockbuster in the US.
“I just think it’s a match-up for the future that’s going to be so fun for the fans on any surface. When you think of how they could potentially play on the grass because that’s a favourite surface of Sinner, who enjoys the faster surfaces,” said the 29-year-old.
“The amount of respect that they have for each other as well, pre- and post-match, they just have nothing but good things to say about the other player.”
The Brit added, “It seems like when they come on court, they know they have to be at 100% against each other because of the game styles, how hard they can hit the ball, how well they move, they kind of do everything extremely well.”
Head-to-Head: Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner
Alcaraz and Sinner have faced each other on six occasions on the main tour and tie these meeting 3-apiece after former’s most recent loss against the latter in the semifinal of the Floridian Masters.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner: 3-3
2021 Paris Masters – Alcaraz beat Sinner 7-6(1), 7-5
2022 Wimbledon – Sinner beat Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4, 6(8)-7, 6-3
2022: Sinner beat Alcaraz 6(5)-7, 6-1, 6-1 at Umag (Croatia Open)
2022 US Open: Alcaraz beat Sinner 6-3, 6(7)-7, 6(0)-7, 7-5, 6-3
2023 Indian Wells: Alcaraz beat Sinner 7-6(4), 6-3
2023 Miami Open: Sinner beat Alcaraz 6(4)-7, 6-4, 6-2
Winning and losing back and forth against each, the next-gen stars will not be able to share the court at the Monte Carlo Masters because of Spaniard’s withdrawal from the event after sustaining post-traumatic arthritis in his left hand and muscular discomfort in his spine.