"He is very mature and not afraid" - Wilander on Carlos Alcaraz

Thursday, 19 May 2022 at 22:15

Updated at Wednesday, 11 December 2024 at 13:46

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byErik Virostko

Former ATP's World No. 1, Mats Wilander, had only words of praise for young sensation Carlos Alcaraz during a recent interview.

Wilander, like Alcaraz, was an incredible player in his teenage years. The former Swedish player won the French Open and two Australian Open titles before turning 20.

Seeing Alcaraz, who has yet to win a major title, but excelled at the ATP Masters 1000 events in 2022, reminded the 57-year-old former player of his teenage self.

Wilander talked to Tennishead in a recent interview, admitting that he can see similarities between his teenage self and Alcaraz.

"I’m not sure I could give Alcaraz any advice. The similarity I see [between teenage me and him] is that he is very mature when it comes to trying to solve the problem. Playing his best while making his opponent play his worst."

"He seems unafraid of trying to find out ‘what do I need to do to play better’ and ‘what do I need to do to make you play worse’. There’s a confidence in his own problem-solving abilities."

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One advantage that Alcaraz has over his rivals, according to Wilander, is his maturity. Despite being a teenager, the young Spaniard can think like a veteran, which helps him to be so successful.

"It doesn’t mean Alcaraz is going to solve the problem every time. It doesn’t mean that I solved the problem very often. But he seems to be fearless when it comes to trying to solve the problem, giving himself different choices."

"So he’s emotionally very mature, that’s the big difference with him and some of the other young players. He’s unafraid of going into the unknown, which should be the most normal quality of a professional tennis player."

"But it seems to be the most unusual quality of tennis players and something that only very few players over the years have shown us, that ‘what I am at 18, 19 is the same mind that I am at 35, 36.’ Very few players can do that. Alcaraz already has the mindset of a veteran, even though he has so little experience."