Carlos Alcaraz will start his Miami Open campaign against compatriot Roberto Carballes Baena, who recalled what the world number two looked like when he first saw him.
The 20-year-old is one of the best players in the world right now, but that wasn't the case a few years ago. The Spaniard was 15 and was only starting to really leave a mark in the junior levels of tennis.
Carballes Baena remembers the first time he saw Alcaraz, which was in Murcia, not far from where Alcaraz was born and raised. The Spaniard was rather skinny and didn't look that physically imposing, according to Carballes Baena.
He certainly didn't look as strong as he does today, but for the most part, he was the same as he is now. Talking to the media ahead of their upcoming Miami Open match, Carballes Baena broke down what a 15-year-old Alcaraz looked like.
"I saw Carlitos [Carlos Alcaraz] play for the first time in Murcia. Carlitos is still the same one I met when he was 15 years old. He is a ten-year-old guy, super simple, friendly and always has a smile, he hasn't changed much."
While Alcaraz looked rather weak frame-wise, Carballes Baena firmly remembered the power he had in his shots, something he clearly described as not usual for somebody that age or size.
It's the same today: very few players can put so much pace into balls as Alcaraz can. Now they'll face each other at the Miami Open. If the weather permits after it washed down Friday's schedule.
"He [Carlos Alcaraz] seemed very skinny and lacked physically, but he had a ball speed that was not normal for someone his age and we did see a different mentality in him. And then the progression that he has had surprised me, because I thought he was going to suffer physically, but in a short time he reached a very high level."
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