For a few months, the presence of Carlos Alcaraz has not gone unnoticed on the circuit. Even though he’s only 18, his rivals know him and respect him. They also talk to him and congratulate him with the network at the end of the matches. Even the top ones, like STefanos Tsitsipas, who today (not before 19:30) will face the Murcian in the third round of the US Open, and that after beating Mannarino on Wednesday he said this when asked about the reveal: “He has improved a lot, he is constantly increasing, every week. I know that a few days ago he played very well. He is doing good tennis on hard court and he is young. I have to face him as I have faced up to now. I must enter the game strong and with the right mentality. “
He is not the first star to praise Alcaraz. No one is left blank when asked for an opinion on him. And, although perhaps before it helped him to enter some tournaments the fact of being Spanish and being compared to Rafa Nadal more for his achievements and his career than for his tennis, his teammates never mention that. This year he is a rookie in New York, but the social networks of the tournament highlight his victories and the game against Tsitsipas, which will be played in the center, Arthur Ashe, has raised a lot of expectation.
“In a Grand Slam, the matches are long and there is time to react and change things,” said Charly, with words that make him seem like a veteran, after solving a game that had become difficult for him against the French Rinderknech.
On the other side of the coin, in terms of sympathies, there is now Tsitsipas, due to its frequent and long exits to the service during the meetings and that were criticized in Cincinnati by Zverev and in the US Open by Murray. The Briton said he had lost “all respect” and gave him an ironic message on Twitter: “He needs twice the time to go to the bathroom than Jeff Bezos to go to space. Interesting.”