Alcaraz 'most important thing that has happened to tennis in a long time' according to Wilander: "Not all roads look the same as Federer, Djokovic or Nadal"

Mats Wilander has called Carlos Alcaraz the most important thing to happen to tennis in a long time as he believes the Spaniard will be great for a very long time.

Many great young players have emerged in the past couple of years but no player captured the attention of the public as much as Carlos Alcaraz. There is a very good reason for that as the Spaniard's rise has been meteoric. He became the youngest number-one the sport has ever seen and that speaks volumes.

Mats Wilander closely followed the Spaniard during his South American Tour and he shared his impressions:

“I saw all his matches in Argentina and Brazil, and I was worried about not seeing their same enthusiasm on the track, but it didn't and the crowd reacted very well. We all have the same feeling, Carlos Alcaraz is the most important thing that has happened to tennis in a long time, due to his behavior on the court and his way of playing."

He added:

"I think his spirit is there, and he is going to discover Carlos Alcaraz's way of approaching this game. Like Rafael Nadal, he has discovered it. And Alcaraz is [not] going to leave. Not all roads will look the same as Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal. They will have their own way. And I think Carlos Alcaraz will find it . But the most important thing is that the mentality and the spirit have not changed. And he conveys that he will never change.