CARLOS ALCARAZ TENNIS NEXT BIG THING ON CLAY?Spanish tennis players have historically had a love affair with claycourts, and the latest talent in this assembly line is Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old who had been the talk of the game’s fraternity last week on his way to winning the Madrid Open on Sunday. There are good enough reasons for that – he is the youngest player since the start of the ATP Tour in 1990 to beat three top-five players at the same event – Rafael Nadal, the king of clay, world No.1 Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in the final. Djokovic, who lost to him in the semi-finals, had no qualms about tipping Alcaraz as a firm favourite for the upcoming French Open. ‘’He definitely is special. Already he’s breaking a lot of records as a teenager, winning two Masters events this year, a couple of (ATP) 500s. So far he’s the best player in the world, no question, this year,’’ Djokovic told the media. [COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]
AFP