"He is about to change tennis, we must catch up" - Dominic Thiem on Carlos Alcaraz
Dominic Thiem heaped praise on Carlos Alcaraz and said that the Spaniard was about to change tennis.
Alcaraz has had an extraordinary season so far, winning 52 out of 63 matches so far with five titles to his name. He won his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open and became the youngest-ever ATP World No. 1 by doing so. He also won two Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid.
Thiem called Alcaraz's career unique and said that he was about to change tennis.
"He already has a unique career. He is the youngest number one in history and winner of the US Open as a teenager, exceptional. He is about to change tennis, because in New York, no matter how long the matches went on, he was there the whole time, playing offense, going to the net and contesting every point without fear. And I think this is new. Nobody did that before. We must catch up," the Austrian told AS.
"You've got a bull eye on your back now" - Jimmy Connors while discussing Carlos Alcaraz
Tennis legend Jimmy Connors spoke about Carlos Alcaraz on the Advantage Connors podcast with his son Brett. The former World No. 1 said that the Spaniard has become everybody's target following his exploits this season.
“You’ve got a bull eye on your back now, especially Alcaraz, just won the US Open and you know, the year that he’s had and he’s No. 1 in the world. (He’s) got to realize that he’s everybody’s target and you know, he’s soon (going to) have to start figuring it out. You’ve got to start winning when you’re only (at your) 70% too, or you don’t like the court surface or it is a little too slow,” Connors said.
Alcaraz hasn't had a good start to his tenure as the World No. 1, winning just one out of three matches so far. The 19-year-old represented Spain at the Davis Cup Finals and lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime before beating Soonwoo Kwon.
He then competed at the Astana Open as the top seed and faced David Goffin in the first round. The Belgian stunned him 7-5, 6-3 to seal his place in the Round of 16, where he lost to Adrian Mannarino.
Alcaraz is next scheduled to compete at the Swiss Indoors in Basel and he will be among the favorites to win the ATP 500 event.