Carlos Alcaraz‘s performances in 2022 left everyone speechless. The 19-year-old Spaniard had already shown flashes of great talent the year before, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open. 2022 was the year of his definitive explosion at very high levels and beyond.
Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protégé won his first Grand Slam, making a memorable run at the US Open. As if that weren’t enough, ‘Carlitos’ also won two Masters 1000 (Miami and Madrid) and as many ATP 500 (Rio and Barcelona).
His triumph in New York allowed Murciano to become the youngest number 1 in the history of men’s tennis. The last few months have not been easy for the young Iberian, who has had to deal with some physical problems. A torn abs meant he missed the ATP Finals and Davis Cup finals last year, while a leg injury cost him the 2023 Australian Open.
In the latest edition of Craig Shapiro’s podcast, Ivan Lendl spent beautiful words for Alcaraz.
Lendl praises Alcaraz
“Carlos Alcaraz is pretty good and he’s only going to get better for a while,” he said. “I don’t know that.
I don’t look at it that way. I know Carlos Alcaraz is coached very well. He has a great team around him. Those guys are very, very good at what they do, the Spaniards. And Juan Carlos Ferrero is fantastic and they’re teaching him well, they’re teaching him the right things, they’re teaching him all the protocols.
He’s an extremely polite young man. He’s great. The Spanish guys do something very good. The French guys do that as well. They retain their former pros and plug them into the programs,” Lendl expressed. Carlos Alcaraz has admitted that it is always hard to pull off his trademark drop shot against the experienced Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“I’m trying to see when the opponent is really far off the baseline to drop shots and if they reach the ball, then a lob or passing shot is easy for me,” divulged Alcaraz. “Rafa, I mean it’s tough to win a drop shot against him or against Djokovic as well, it’s tough.
I think they see when I’m going to hit a drop shot. They see before I hit it. And ofcourse they run before, you know, They always reach the ball. They are very good at that. They hit another drop shot, so they win the point,” the 19-year-old said.
