Former WTA star Carla Suarez Navarro predicts “complete player” Carlos Alcaraz will replace Rafael Nadal at the top of men’s tennis
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Carlos Alcaraz and Carla Suarez Navarro (R)
Former WTA star and recently turned commentator at the US Open, Carla Suarez Navarro has hailed new World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz as the player who could replace Rafael Nadal after his retirement to fill the void in Spanish tennis.
Alcaraz, 19, won the US Open this year thereby becoming the youngest top-ranked player in men’s tennis history, surpassing former Australian Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt by a few months.
“Yes, totally. Perhaps it can be a replacement, because, obviously, Rafa continues, but we are in his last years. Time passes for everyone and he has been subjected to a lot of demand. Physically, he is no longer what he was, although mentally he will always surprise us. Young players are coming and it is lucky that we have Carlitos, we should enjoy him and I think he will give us a lot of success in the future,” Suarez Navarro recently said in an interview.
When asked if Alcaraz is the biggest talent she’s seen yet, Suarez Navarro replied: “Yes, probably, he is a very complete player at his age. It is true that the players have a lot of room for improvement at 18 and 19 years old, Alcaraz does too, but he is very, very complete. And, when I say very complete, I mean on a tennis, physical and mental level. What I would highlight is his mental strength. At his age, he has saved match points in several of his titles. He is also very important to the team around him.”
Dominic Thiem says rest of the ATP Tour needs to catch up to Carlos Alcaraz quickly
In a recent interview, former US Open champion Dominic Thiem had only praise for the Spanish teenager.
“You already have 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,” Thiem said.
Meanwhile, Thiem’s conditioning coach recently revealed in an opinion article that the Austrian is making fast recovery from injuries that pushed back his career for the last two years and that the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal may be surprised when they face him at the 2023 Australian Open.
Thiem recently reached the semifinals of the Gijon Open where he put up a decent fight against eventual winner Andrey Rublev.“He’s fresh, he’s ready, he’s fit and he’s pain-free. With another really big training block in November and December, I think he will be at another level by Australia,” Jez Green, who has previously even worked with Andy Murray, recently wrote in a Tennishead column.
“He’s very fresh and has very good motivation. He can have five more years left in tennis, so he has very good possibilities. Make no mistake, Novak and Rafa are not going to want to see a fully fit Dominic Thiem back!” wrote Green.
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Ashish Maggo
(191 Articles Published)