Alcaraz defeated Dusan Lajovic in straight sets on Wednesday to advance to the third round of the 2022 Australian Open. With his second-round win over the Serb, the Spaniard became the youngest male player to make the third round at the Melbourne Slam since Bernard Tomic in 2011.
The 18-year-old, who reached the quarterfinals of the US Open last year and won the Next Gen Finals, has achieved many feats in his young career so far, leading many to compare him to Spain’s greatest-ever player Rafael Nadal. Alcaraz, however, admitted he was not dwelling on the comparisons.
The 18-year-old also spoke in glowing terms about his experience on the ATP tour, claiming that he has learned a lot from his matches against top players like Nadal over the past year.
Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero also spoke to the Tennis Channel, praising the young Spaniard’s skills and mindset and insisting that he could very well be a Grand Slam champion in the future.
“I think that Juan Carlos [Ferrero] is very important for me, as a tennis coach and as a person” - Carlos Alcaraz
During the interaction, Carlos Alcaraz also gave his thoughts on his coach. The Spaniard insisted that Ferrero has been an integral figure in his career so far, revealing that he was “really friendly” and allowed him to have fun.
The Spaniard will now face seventh seed Matteo Berrettini for a place in the fourth round in Melbourne. He leads Berrettini 1-0 in the head-to-head, having gotten the better of the Italian in three sets at the Vienna Open last year.
Also check out: Updated ATP Men’s Tennis Rankings
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