Carlos Alcaraz ‘is pretty unbelievable’ claims Daniil Medvedev
Carlos Alcaraz has been heaped with praise by Daniil Medvedev, who has described the first time that he realised how talented the Spaniard is.
Alcaraz became the youngest world No.1 in history after winning the 2022 US Open, and Medvedev suggested that the 20-year-old has been a product of his own downfall in terms of critics.
“He started off crazy, at his age,” Medvedev exclusively told Eurosport. “Youngest world No. 1 in history, that says it all.
“That’s why right now when he is losing maybe just a bit more matches than before, you see people starting to say ‘oh maybe he lost his confidence a little bit’.”
The Russian added, “He’s still 20 years old, very young, so it’s normal that sometimes in his career he’s going to have some ups and downs. But the talent that he has is pretty unbelievable. We knew straight away when he came on tour.”
I'm lost for words at right now! ???? I just want to keep dreaming!
???? Getty Images pic.twitter.com/IyQXjvgamY
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) September 12, 2022
Medvedev went onto talk about the first time that he was made aware of Alcaraz, when the now two-time major winner was training with world No.5 Andrey Rublev.
“I remember he was somewhere close to the top 100, and he was hitting with Rublev,” said Medvedev. “Andrey is one of the hardest hitters in tennis, and at the time I think Carlos was 17. And I was looking and I was like ‘wow, he hits stronger than Andrey’. This guy has good potential.”
Medvedev continued, “So it’s going to be interesting to see how he copes with all the things that come with playing good at tennis, a lot of sponsors, a lot of interest, stuff like this.
“Some guys are easy with it, some guys have pressure and handle it differently. I think he’s still young to make any conclusions, so let’s see how he goes later.”
Medvedev has withdrawn from playing in Doha next week, and is set to return to defend his title in Dubai, whereas Alcaraz will continue to focus on the South American clay court swing in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
Vamos! ???????? https://t.co/WZ7Sdomm1p
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 16, 2024
Inside the baseline…
Daniil Medvedev makes some really good points about Carlos Alcaraz, who is having a relatively mediocre patch in his incredible career so far. At the end of the day Alcaraz is only human and it is not always going to be plain-sailing for him, and the Spaniard has still achieved his best ever Australian Open performance this year.
READ NEXT – Carlos Alcaraz: Regaining world number one is my goal this season
Carlos Alcaraz vs Daniil Medvedev head-to-head
Alcaraz and Medvedev have played a total of five times, with four of those meetings coming last year:
Alcaraz vs Medvedev: 3-2
- Medvedev beat Alcaraz, 6-4 6-1 6-2 (Wimbledon 2021, Second Round)
- Alcaraz beat Medvedev, 6-3 6-2 (Indian Wells 2023, Final)
- Alcaraz beat Medvedev, 6-3 6-3 6-3 (Wimbledon 2023, Semi-final)
- Medvedev beat Alcaraz, 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 (US Open 2023, Semi-final)
- Alcaraz beat Medvedev, 6-4 6-4 (ATP Finals 2023, Round-Robin)
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