Carlos Alcaraz 'on track to become a legend' claims Gael Monfils

Carlos Alcaraz and Gael Monfils - Indian Wells 2022

August 14, 2023

ATP Tennis Players, Carlos Alcaraz, Tennis News

Carlos Alcaraz ‘on track to become a legend’ claims Gael Monfils

Carlos Alcaraz has been backed to win the number of Grand Slams to become a legend by former top 10 player Gael Monfils, who revealed what makes the Spaniard ‘different’.

Alcaraz has made huge waves on the ATP tour over the past couple of years, winning two Grand Slam titles, four Masters 1000 titles and has been world No.1 for 32 weeks and counting.

And former No.6 and three-time Masters 1000 finalist Monfils has praised the 20-year-old, “Yeah. Carlos is a great guy. Obviously, a great kid. You know, he’s beginning of a big legend of the tennis, you know. I think definitely a champion already, but it’s, I think his goal is to become a legend like those legends that we have in our game.”

He continued, “I played him it was last year, I think I played him last year. And when I finished the match, I told everybody, I said, ‘Whoa, look out. He’s going to be – he is different.’

“When I played him, you know, I felt like his ball was different. His movement was different. His mentality was different. So I could just, I was just happy to just say, it happened to him quick. But I felt his ball already, so I knew he has something different.”

A sweet for our eyes: when Gaël Monfils and Carlos Alcaraz do the Djokovic game in Toronto 🍬pic.twitter.com/h9sMepGSbG
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) August 9, 2023

While he did not specify how many majors it takes to become a legend, Monfils did suggest that Alcaraz is well on his way to achieve that status.

“Yeah, I think every player wants to become a champion, legend, whatever. He’s already [a] champion, you know,” claims Monfil. “When you’re [a] champion, for me, when you win Slams, and he already won Slams. And I think he stated already that he wants to win a lot of Grand Slam[s].”

“You know, to win a lot of Grand Slam[s] is to become a legend. So it’s not even him wants to become a legend. But I think if you want to, if you win more than certain number of Slam[s], you become a legend.

The Frenchman added, “So I feel like he’s on a track to win the number for him to become a legend. But don’t put pressure on him (smiling).”

Both Alcaraz and Monfils were knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the Canadian Open, and now turn their attention to the Cincinnati Masters taking place this week.