He is the real deal – Andy Roddick lauds Carlos Alcaraz

Former World no.1 Andy Roddick showered praise on youngster Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard defeated Stefanos Tsitsitpas to book his quarterfinal berth in the ongoing Miami Open. The 18-year old has a never give up attitude on the court and he made a resounding comeback against the Greek after going down 2-5 in the first set.

The youngster bounced back in style to take the match by 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 50 minutes against the number three seed. Roddick believes Alcaraz is an animal on the court as he has shown the skills to go a long way in his career.

Alcaraz has the right game and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he soon makes it into the top 10 of the ATP rankings. The Spaniard made it to the quarters of the Miami Open without even dropping a single set.

Speaking to Tennis Channel, Roddick said, “This guy moves like it’s unbelievable. People normally have to grow into their movement a little bit and he doesn’t need much time to fire the forehand.”

“Most of the guys with huge forehands need two feet under them to give it a ride. This guy can turn on it real quick, almost like Andre Agassi used to. You would hit a big ball to him and it would come back just as fast.”

“This guy is no joke. He’s the real deal and I don’t know that this [the win over Tsitsipas] is an upset. I don’t know that we’ve seen someone this young, who you kind of expect to win matches like this often. This guy is an animal.

On the other hand, Alcaraz also defeated Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanović by 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 in the quarters to book his semis berth. If the Spaniard goes all the way in Miami, he will clinch his third ATP title and his first-ever ATP 1000 Masters title.