Tennis greats, at the foot of Alcaraz: Djokovic, Nadal, Zverev and Tsitsipas speak of the amazing Carlitos

Carlos Alcaraz is the player of the moment on the ATP circuit. Murcian on Sunday covered the Madrid Masters 1000 by crushing Alexander Zverev in two sets and adding his second title in a tournament in that category, after he won in Miami more than a month ago. And the world of tennis has given up at his feet. From Serbian Novak Djokovic, whom he defeated in the semifinals of the Spanish tournament, to his rival in the final, he was showered with praise and acknowledged, without problem, that Charlie Brownwho at 19 was sixth in the ranking, now the best.

“I don’t like comparisons, all the players are authentic and special. Alcaraz is special, he has broken many records being very young and won two Masters this year. So far he is the best player in the world“, Djokovic assured the previous one at the beginning of Rome Masters 1000which began this Monday, without the presence of Alcaraz, who will take a few days off before Roland Garros.

“The way he handles the pressure is incredible. It’s great to have a kid in tennis who challenges the best players and is humble at the same time. I wish him the best and hopefully I can meet him more times on different surfaces. It generates efficient energy on the slopes, which is why it is very expensive“, added number one.

And he ended up with a forecast that until the start of the season could be dangerous, but now it’s logical: “He’s one of the favorites for Roland Garros.”

A similar review was made on Sunday by Zverev, after beating 6-3 and 6-1 in the decisive duel in Magic Box.

“Right now, he’s the best player in the world. He’s five years old and he beats us all,” said the German, number three in the world, joking about the Spaniard’s punctuality. “He is a new superstar, he will win many Grand Slams and will be number one in the world. And he will win this tournament many times. He’s so good for tennis. “

The victory against Zverev was just the end of a dream week for Alcaraz, who won his second consecutive title in Madrid (he only won in Barcelona) and his fourth in 2022 (he was crowned in February in Rio of January).

In the Spanish capital he made his debut with a victory in the second round against the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (27th in the ranking). He then defeated the British cameron norrie (11th). And in the quarterfinals, he picked Rafael Nadal, one of his childhood idols and the best player in clay history, before eliminating Djokovic and Zverev. Thus, he became the youngest player to beat the three top 5 players in the same tournament since 1990, the year of the ATP Tour’s debut.

Nadal also gave good praise to his compatriot, who has long been pointed out by many as his successor.

“I’m not surprised that Carlos won in Madrid. He doesn’t have to look at me anymore, he’s already a star. And he can do amazing things. I am happy as a Spaniard and as a tennis fan that we will have an incredible player like him in the long run.”, reflects Mallorcan, the greatest Grand Slams winner in history (21).

“When you’re young and very good, the process is faster than for normal people. And he’s not a normal kid, like Novak, Roger and maybe myself are not normal boys,” he added. Rafa, fourth in the ranking.

Alcaraz brought about such a revolution today that even Stefanos Tsitsipas, four years older, acknowledged his admiration for Murcian.

“Alcaraz has been a source of inspiration for me, I want to be like him“, assured the number five in the world and current champion of Monte Carlo.” He is already doing very well and I know that he can still grow more. The results show that he is now one of the strongest players in the world. ”

The Greek suffered this three times that he had to face him in court. He lost to Murcian in five sets in the third round of the US Open last year and in eighth in Miami and in the Barcelona quarters, in 2022.

Tsitsipas even made sure that the way Alcaraz approached each game reminded him of how he did it in his early years.

“You can see he’s very hungry. He’s playing so loose and free, it’s like he’s undefeated. I remember myself when I was just starting to play on the ATP Tour. I played without worry, like free. Spirit. It’s nice to see. ” , comment. “With that comes a lot of responsibility and you have to know how to handle it. But I’m sure Carlitos will do well. And with him, tournament draws become much more complicated.”

Praise rained down from all sides. But Alcaraz doesn’t “believe it”.

“The best in the world is still Djokovic, the fact that Barcelona or Madrid haven’t won doesn’t change. I’m number six, I have five players ahead of me and there’s a lot of work to be done to get number one. .I think the trait that has the best is the non -stop and the ability to continue with all their strokes. And I have room for improvement in absolutely everything “, assures Alcaraz, who has the world of tennis at his feet. .