Roberto Bautista Agut in Awe of Carlos Alcaraz’s Charismatic Personality: “I Call Him a Being of Light”

Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the ATP 500 Barcelona Open due to a wrist injury.

Roberto Bautista Agut in Awe of Carlos Alcaraz’s Charismatic Personality: “I Call Him a Being of Light”

Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut (circle) (Image via CLAY, X/Carlos Alcaraz Brasil)

In Short
  • Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open.
  • Roberto Bautista Agut praised Alcaraz's positive personality, calling him a "being of light" and highlighting his energy on and off the court.
  • Despite a coaching split, Alcaraz continued to achieve success, winning back-to-back titles at the Australian Open and Qatar Open.

Carlos Alcaraz, despite being 22, has achieved so much in his career that he is already backed by many to become one of the greatest players of all time. This year, he became the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam by defeating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.

But more than any records, Roberto Bautista Agut liked most about Alcaraz was his personality. The Spaniard always plays with a smile, no matter how tough the situation is.

And when that smile disappears, he struggles to play (that’s what Dominic Thiem said in a recent interview). According to the Austrian, Alcaraz can surpass Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slam titles record if he continues to enjoy his time on the court.

Because of Alcaraz’s bubbly nature, Patrick McEnroe thinks he is more popular than a rather calm and composed Jannik Sinner. In the eyes of Agut, Alcaraz is a ‘being of light’ as he lavished a lot of praise on his compatriot during his interview with CLAY.

I call Carlitos a ‘being of light’. He has incredible energy, and in any field or discipline he had chosen, he would have been a phenomenon. We are lucky to have him in tennis, lucky that he is Spanish. He’s a great kid who radiates positive energy to the people around him.

Agut also admires Alcaraz for the way he handled the split with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. The 2003 French Open champion left Alcaraz’s team last December due to disagreements over the new contract. In spite of the breakup, Alcaraz won back-to-back titles, in the first Major of the season and later at the Qatar Open by defeating Arthur Fils.

To achieve the results and runs he has had this season, you need a lot of composure on court and a lot of maturity. He’s probably dealing with things internally, but a tennis player knows how to face daily challenges, because there are always challenges. And I think he is showing the maturity needed to keep winning many events.

Roberto Bautista Agut added

Agut, 38, will be hanging up his racket after the end of the 2026 season. He was last seen in action at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he handed the walkover to Matteo Berrettini in the first round after losing four consecutive games in the first set.

Dominic Thiem felt it was completely obvious that Carlos Alcaraz would do great things

Carlos Alcaraz clinched his career’s first tour-level win during the 2020 Rio Open at the age of 16. Dominic Thiem had entered the tournament as the top seed and also practiced with the now seven-time Grand Slam champion.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

From that practice, Thiem was convinced about one thing: that Alcaraz would achieve great things in his career. But the 2020 US Open champion did not have the same opinion about the now four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner.

I was practicing with Carlos in Rio when he was 16, and it was completely obvious that this guy was going to be amazing because he just had this specialty. He was playing unbelievably fast, unbelievably heavy. I was in my peak back then, and I had troubles with his ball, so it was completely obvious; with Jannik, it was not the case.

Dominic Thiem said during the BTA Podcast

Alcaraz, after winning titles in Melbourne and Doha, lost to Daniil Medvedev and Sebastian Korda in the two Sunshine Double tournaments. Then he failed to defend his Monte-Carlo Masters title as he lost to Sinner in the final. Alcaraz then played the Barcelona Open, where an injury forced him to hand the walkover to Tomas Machac in the second round.

Also read: Boris Becker Sends ‘Unique’ Novak Djokovic Grand Slam Warning to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz