Andy Roddick heaped praises on Carlos Alcaraz after his performance at the 2024 Laver Cup. After seeing him demolish his opponents in Berlin, the American even put Alcaraz at nearly the same level as all-time greats Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal.
Carlos Alcaraz debuted at the Laver Cup this year and looked comfortable on and off the court. He appeared on day 1 of the tournament, playing doubles with Alexander Zverev. But the pair lost to Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz. On day 2, the Spaniard notched his first win, beating Shelton 6-4, 6-4 in a singles contest.Alcaraz picked up his pace on the tournament’s final day when Team Europe was attempting to overturn an 8-4 deficit. The former World No. 1 won a doubles match with Casper Ruud and then defeated Team World headliner Taylor Fritz in the deciding match of the tournament 6-2, 7-5. In the process, he played a crucial role in Team Europe winning its fifth Laver Cup title, 13-11.
The Spaniard was responsible for eight out of the 13 points that Team Europe picked up at the Laver Cup, the most points won by a single player in tournament history. Carlos Alcaraz’s commanding performance at the Laver Cup impressed many across the tennis world, including Andy Roddick.In the latest episode of the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, the American stated that he was stunned when Alcaraz bowed out of the 2024 US Open in the second round, especially after a great summer that included triumphs at the French Open and Wimbledon and the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Alcaraz lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets in just his second match in New York.
However, the way Alcaraz turned around his form at the Laver Cup and made light work of some of the best players on the tour impressed Roddick. The American was also amazed that his peers and rivals at the Laver Cup admitted that the Spaniard was the best player at the tournament.
“I think this was an important weekend for Carlos Alcaraz. Massive summer, one of the craziest losses I’ve seen just based on build up in Olympics and two slams and the whole thing, young guy. Alcaraz losing to van de Zandschulp in straight sets, like on a score line that’s as lopsided as he’s ever been a part of,” Roddick said.
“Then quickly re-establish at the Laver Cup that I’m the best player in this building full of earth’s best players, right?And, and coming through at the end and also the way that the other players like very, very like easily.We’re like, oh yeah, he’s the best player here.”
Roddick went as far as to say Alcaraz has created an aura around himself that was seen around the ‘Big 3’ of tennis- Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal. And his competitors see him in the same light as these tennis greats.
“It was kind of like, you know, it’s the thing that we saw with the big three and now they’re discussing Carlos in that, that same light and he kind of proved them right. And was like, hey, there’s a little speed bump at the US Open but, you know.”
Carlos Alcaraz becomes third player to qualify for ATP Finals 2024
Carlos Alcaraz will need to keep up his impressive form in the Laver Cup for longer after becoming the third player to qualify for the 2024 ATP Finals. The other players who have so far made the cut for the tournament are World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Alexander Zverev. The 2024 ATP Finals will be played at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, from November 10 to 17.
Carlos Alcaraz has won three titles on the 2024 ATP Tour. He picked up his first silverware of the year at the Indian Wells Masters, where he bettered Sinner and Daniil Medvedev en route to the title. Then, the 21-year-old won his second Grand Slam title at the French Open and accomplished the channel slam at the Wimbledon Championships.The Spaniard currently has a 43-9 record for the season. He is set to kick off the last phase of the 2024 ATP Tour, the Asian swing, at the China Open. Alcaraz is seeded second at the ATP 500 tournament and will face French prodigy Giovani Mpetshi Perricard in the opening round.
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