Carlos Alcaraz is the player of the moment. The Murcian is on everyone’s lips after his brilliant victory at the last Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, where he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the grand final.
This display shocked the coach of the Russian tennis player, who did not hold back praise for the new number 1 in the world. “He’s the Tyson of tennis because of how he can hit those forehands with the racket. There were punches that moved Daniel 10 meters with brutal power and speed,” Gilles Cervara told L’Equipe.
The French coach revealed that they know about Alcaraz’s strengths “but he is an incredible player. Leave rivals with no options. We thought he would make mistakes and he gave the impression that he would not fail. It is necessary to start to find his weaknesses for the future.”
For his part, Medvedev assured after the final that the Spaniard deserved “one hundred percent” to be the new number one of world rank.
“Carlos is number one in the world in a proper way. He’s scored more points than anyone else in the last 52 weeks and that’s how the rankings are“, he said at a press conference to a question about whether he is “the real number one” because Novak Djokovic, who was now ousted by Alcaraz, cannot play in the US because he has not been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Of course it’s a shame that Novak can’t play in every tournament and I’m sure we’d all love to see him play. (…). But that’s what there is. I don’t know, Rafa Nadal was injured a while ago. We can also say: ‘If Rafa hadn’t been injured, he would have been number one’. Well, we can’t say because he’s injured. And it’s the same with Novak”, for example.
As soon as the game ended, the Russian congratulated the Spaniard on the track for all the victories he had achieved and that they will come in the future and for being “probably the most polite people on the circuit.”
“I think you greet 300 people every day.“, he joked.
“I tried, I tried (in the final). I don’t like to lose but unfortunately it was quite easy…”, he continued pulling irony.
Already at the press conference, Medvedev recognized the superiority of the Murcian and pointed out that he did not have the best days either.
“He played well. I think his serve was good today. His serve and volley were good,” he said.
“I want to play against him on a different surface, maybe faster, to see if I can do better.. But yeah, I don’t know if it was his game that didn’t allow me to play at my best level or if for some reason I didn’t. Mentally I’m ready for the game (…). He knows he has a fierce rival on the other side. He played well. Good drops in good times, some good wins to break my serve. Nothing more to add,” he added.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
