Djokovic: “Alcaraz is perfect”

Carlos Alcaraz is not in Rome, but his name runs from mouth to mouth among the marbles of the Foro Italico where the Masters and WTA 1,000 are already played. the murcian, infiltrated his right ankle before playing the final in Madrid and with an infected blister, he was discharged in Romewhere Rafael Nadal (debuts on Wednesday against Francisco Cerúndolo or John Isner) and Novak Djokovic (today around 3:00 p.m. on TDP and Movistar Deportes against Aslan Karatsev) They will continue filming. One, after the rib injury he suffered in Indian Wells. The other, after forced absences from tournaments due to his refusal to get vaccinated. The two fell in front of the new sensation of the ATP in the Magic Box.

“He already won in Miami and in Barcelona. Honestly, it’s not a big surprise. Everyone knows how confident he is now, the level he can give. I’m happy for him and because we have an incredible player in our country for many years”, Nadal valued yesterday about the Alcaraz explosion. The Spaniard is the current champion in Rome, where he has reigned ten times.

Whoever looks for jealousy in Nadal, who surely in his hypercompetitive spirit already ruminates on a rematch, will not find them. He understands it as a law of life: “It is young and everything new is more interesting than the old. It happens with cars, or telephones. It’s normal and I can’t complain about that”. “We are getting old too and the new generations are coming with force”, completed Rafa, on his way to 36 years old.

“Although he has not reached a second week of a Grand Slam, he is one of the main favorites for Roland Garros,” Djokovic also conceded. at a press conference. Without the need for a champion of 20 Grand Slams to exaggerate the ears of a newcomer, the Serbian did: “He’s special. His game is really impressive. He’s complete. He can play equally well offensively and defensively. He is bold enough to challenge the best in the world and win big trophies while also being humble and personable off the pitch.”

“I really want to be like him!” Stefanos Tsitsipas flattered Alcaraz, also in Rome. The Greek (5th in the ranking at 23 years old) has lost against the Spaniard the three times they have met.

“He plays with freshness, with hunger, as if he had nothing to lose. It reminds me a bit of me when I showed up on the circuit. He played like a free spirit”, synthesized Tsitsipas, who defined the tennis of his little black beast as “impressive”. “He puts a lot of energy, he is fast and he reads the game well”, he summed up.

Alcaraz, we repeat, is not in Rome. But the echo of his explosion crossed the Mediterranean.