Mats Wilander strikingly labels Carlos Alcaraz as the ‘MOST EXCITING’ player ever to walk on a tennis court’ ahead of the French Open

Mats Wilander puts his money on Carlos Alcaraz for this year's French Open

Mats Wilander strikingly labels Carlos Alcaraz as the ‘MOST EXCITING’ player ever to walk on a tennis court’ ahead of the French Open

Image Credit: Mats Wilander(Reuters) and Carlos Alcaraz (Instagram)

Swedish ex-World No. 1 Mats Wilander talked in detail about Carlos Alcaraz in an interview with Eurosport. Wilander spoke about how Carlos is his favorite for the French Open title in 2023. He also believes that the 20-year-old might be the most well-prepared player for the French Open.

Mats Wilander was talking to Eurosport ahead of the French Open and gave his predictions for the upcoming weeks. He spoke about the electricity Carlos Alcaraz brings to the court and spectators. While watching fans get behind him in a way that has not been seen in the past for such a young player. Mats said, “To me, Carlos Alcaraz seems to be the most exciting tennis player that has ever walked on a tennis court.“

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Wilander also added that the excitement around him is also a bit about, Will he or won’t he become a great champion of tennis? “Because we don’t really know if he’s going to be a great champion or if he’s going to be stuck maybe just winning the US Open once.“

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The way Carlos Alcaraz‘s energy reverberates through the crowd is phenomenal. Wilander added, “The anticipation level of people when they watch Carlos Alcaraz play – I have never experienced another tennis player where the fans are so enthusiastic about a tennis player, whether it’s a male player or a female player.“

Related: Novak Djokovic handed tricky draw in pursuit of 3rd French Open Title, might face Carlos Alacaraz in semis

Mats Wilander says Carlos Alcaraz’s preparedness is on the money

Alcaraz Tennis INfinity
Image Credit: Carlos Alcaraz (TennisInfinity.com)

Mats Wilander felt that though Carlos Alcaraz fell short in Italian Open, his wins in Indian Wells, Barcelona and Madrid have got him ready to take French Open head on. He said “For Carlos Alcaraz, I think the preparation actually is perfect.” Carlos Alcaraz had lost to Hungarian Fabian Marozchan, a qualifier at the Italian Open.

Since Alcaraz had an early exit in Italian Open, he got additional time to rest before French Open, and Mats feels that might help him perform better in Paris. “I think [his] confidence is very high. He has [had] about two weeks, maybe even slightly more to rest before he starts.” Eventually Wilander spoke about who might be the favorite at the French Open.

He said that if Carlos Alcaraz was not there Novak Djokovic would be the favorite to win. But that’s not the case. “If it was only Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Sasha Zverev and that generation, I think most people would like to see Novak win,” Wilander added. “But because Carlos is there, I think most people want to see him win because we don’t know what to expect.”

There are lots of predictions and expectations for this French Open, which is wide open as Rafael Nadal is not playing. A lot of them point at Carlos Alcaraz. I guess everyone will have to wait and watch.

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