Carlos Alcaraz’s Round of 16 match against Casper Ruud marked yet another reason why he is so comfortably the best player in the world right now.
He breezed past the Norwegian superstar, crushing him in the first set before turning up when it mattered to claim the second in a tiebreak.
In doing so, the Spaniard has now set up a mouth-watering quarter-final encounter with Cam Norrie, a player who notoriously caused problems for the world number one over the past few years.
Speaking ahead of that clash, Carlos Alcaraz twice referenced the match and what he expects from the former British number one.
Carlos Alcaraz sends ‘revenge’ warning to Cam Norrie
First speaking courtside to Sky Sports after his win over Ruud, he began by rating his own level: “Well, I just feel I’m playing great tennis. Obviously, it depends on the day, you know, I cannot play great every day, but what I’m doing really well, every day is to maintain my focus, to maintain my, you know, at least a certain level, all the time.
“And I’m trying to, you know, mentally be strong and positive all the time. That’s what I’m trying to do in every match, every day, and I think that helps a lot to, you know, to win matches or just to play high intensity every point. So I’m just really, really happy about doing this so far this season.”
Do you believe Carlos Alcaraz is already the greatest tennis player of all time?
He then turned his attention to Norrie, noting: “Well, he’s always a tough player to play against, you know, at least for me.
“You know, we had great battles, great matches. I think the last one he beat me, so I just really want to take the revenge, to be honest.
“But, you know, he loves this court. He loves this tournament as well, so I have to be ready, well prepared, and, yeah, excited and looking forward to playing tomorrow.”
Later, at his press conference, Alcaraz was asked why he struggles so much against the 30-year-old. Laughing, he replied: “I would love to answer that question, to be honest (smiling), but probably Cam is going to watch this.
But, you know, I would say lefties are always tricky to play against, I would say. Just the way he can change the, you know, I’m gonna say the height of the ball. He has a really flat backhand and really topspin forehand. So you can be a little bit confused sometimes with how it’s gonna come, the ball, to you.
“He’s a gladiator. You know, he’s a real fighter, fighting every ball, every game, every set. So it’s really difficult to, you know, when you’re facing someone like never give up any point or any ball.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s head-to-head record vs Cam Norrie
Although he may have a losing record against the seven-time Grand Slam champion, Norrie has won three of the last six encounters with this phenomenal youngster. Their head-to-head is rather finally poised.
And, quite crucially, Norrie won his most recent meeting against Alcaraz late last year in Paris, which could provide a useful mental boost too.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
He has sadly never beaten the 22-year-old in a Grand Slam, and did lose in their only ever previous meeting at Indian Wells, when Alcaraz reached the semi-finals in 2022.
Alcaraz leads the head-to-head against Norrie, with five wins to three.
