Lorenzo
Musetti praised
Carlos Alcaraz and called him the Tennis King Midas.
The
21-year-old Italian, currently ranked world No. 18, is one of the young tennis
players who have reached the top ranks at an early age, although still
overshadowed by other stars like his compatriot Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, and
the world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
Musetti
faced the Spanish player twice, first in the final of the 2022 Hamburg Open,
defeating the Spanish player who was the first seed. After the tournament, the
Italian climbed from world No. 62 to 31 and has since fluctuated between the
15th and 30th positions in the ATP ranking over the last year.
In their
second encounter in the fourth round of the 2023 French Open, Alcaraz, as the
world No. 1, convincingly defeated the Italian with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-2,
displaying a much superior level to Musetti.
Precisely,
the Italian commented on the growth that Alcaraz has shown in the last year,
winning two Grand Slams and reaching the world No. 1.
“In one
year he has made incredible progress in terms of tennis, but also physically
and in his awareness of his own means. Today [he] is the reference, the player
to beat,” Musetti said.
“He is the
King Midas of tennis: what he touches turns to gold. He is both a friend and a
source of inspiration, having beaten him is a boast, but also an additional
motivation to do it again,” he added.
The Italian
also commented on the recent statements made by Goran Ivanisevic, the coach of
Novak Djokovic, who said that the only ones who can threaten Alcaraz at the US
Open are 'Nole' and Sinner.
“Alcaraz is
a story in itself and Sinner is the only one who can threaten him at the US
Open along with Novak. Sinner's game bothers Alcaraz and they've had some very
interesting encounters so far,” Ivanisevic said.
“I disagree
[with Ivanisevic's views]. There are many players who can upset him and there are
others who are flourishing and whose true value we have not yet seen,” the
Italian stated,” Musetti opined about it.
