Carlos Alcaraz is not confirming the sensational results obtained until Wimbledon 2023, held back by injuries and some ups and downs. But despite the two disappointing eliminations at the 2024 Australian Open and in Buenos Aires, the young Spaniard is a tennis player with an extraordinary talent, still partly unexplored.
Carlitos became the youngest ATP Ni.1 in history after winning his first Slam at the US Open in 2022 and forged ahead in the following months, immediately showing he can express an extraordinary level.
The success achieved at Wimbledon against Novak Djokovic in the fifth set gave rise to one of the most epic moments of recent years, making expectations around Alcaraz grow even more. To such an extent that the judgments on the semi-final played at the 2023 US Open and on the elimination in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open take on negative contours.
Carlos Alcaraz© Marcelo Endelli / Stringer Getty Images Sport
In an exclusive interview with Eurosport, Daniil Medvedev talked about the future of Alcaraz, asking fans to understand the moment and have a little patience.
“He started his career in a crazy way, at his age he immediately became the youngest world number 1 in history; and this already says it all. Perhaps it is for this reason that at this moment, where he is losing a few more matches, you’re starting to see people saying: he’s lost a bit of confidence.
He’s still 20 years old, he’s very young, it’s normal that he can still have some ups and downs in his career. But the talent he has is truly incredible. We understood it straight away when he came on the tour. I remember at one point he was around the top 100 and he was training with Andrey Rublev.
Andrey is one of the hardest hitters on the circuit and I think Carlos was 17 at the time. I saw it and thought: wow, he hits harder than Andrey. This guy has a lot of potential. It will be interesting to see how he deals with all the things that come from continuing to play good tennis, from having a lot of sponsors, from creating a lot of interest, all the things like that that he already has but that will continue long into his career,” Medvedev analyzed.
Medvedev surprised by Alcaraz’s words about Olympic gold medal and the Roland Garros
Considering the statements regarding a possible choice between winning the Olympic Gold Medal or the Roland Garros, expressed by the young Carlitos, the Russian explained that Grand Slam tournaments have no equal in the world of tennis and that no event will ever be able to exceed the value of a Major.
Carlos Alcaraz© Marcelo Endelli / Stringer Getty Images Sport
“I’m somewhat surprised by Alcaraz’s comments. I wonder why he said that, whether it was because he watched the Olympics a lot as a child, or for different reasons. Certainly the Olympics are a very big event that I think every player dreams of winning, but I think that the Slam tournaments still have an advantage over everything, they remain a little more important than everything else in the world of tennis.
Then, of course, the Olympics are certainly important, as are the ATP Finals. And I think the thing that these tournaments have in common is that when you’re there it feels like you’re saying to yourself wow, to win I have to be at my best level and it would be a great thing to do that. This is the difference compared to other tournaments,” he explained.
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