Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas suggests Carlos Alcaraz reminds him of his younger self as he thinks the Spaniard is also a careless and free-spirited.
Tsitsipas is no longer viewed as a promising player on the ATP Tour as he will be turning 24 in August and he has a lot of experience under his belt.
On the other side, Alcaraz just turned 19 but he is already a two-time Masters champion and enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 6 in the world.
Alcaraz is now considered as the most promising and talented player on the ATP Tour as some believe he is the first player that can be safely labelled as a “Big Three successor.”
Tsitsipas: I’ll have to work harder with Alcaraz now around
“Some older guys will take it very – I don’t know – personal, it would strengthen your ego, let’s say,” Tsitsipas said.
“But you can see he’s very hungry. He plays very fresh and hungry, like (he) has nothing to lose. It kind of reminds me of my early days when I was introduced to the ATP Tour. I didn’t really know what to expect along the way. I was just playing carelessly, completely free-spirited. It’s a nice thing to see.
“But, of course, what that comes a lot of responsibility and you have to be able to manage that well. I’m sure he will. I see no reason he will not.
“But with him in most of the draws, the lineup is getting even tougher. I will for sure have to work harder to get the results that I ever wanted.”
Tsitsipas kicked off his clay season at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he won back-to-back titles.
After Monte Carlo, Tsitsipas won his first two matches in Barcelona before losing to Alcaraz.
Tsitsipas started his clay season with seven consecutive wins before losing to Alcaraz.