By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, May 9, 2022
Stefanos Tsitsipas resides one spot ahead of Carlos Alcaraz in the rankings.
The fifth-ranked Greek says he looks up to the 19-year-old Spanish phenom's complete game.
A day after Alcaraz crushed world No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 to capture his maiden Madrid Masters crown and fourth title of the year, Tsitsipas praised the Miami Open champion as an ideal player.
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"His tennis is very impressive," Tsitsipas said of Alcaraz in his Rome presser. "I think he puts a lot of energy into every single shot. He is quick. He has a good reaction time. He reads the game well.
"He inspires me a lot. I really want to be like him. I look up to him."
Roland Garros runner-up Tsitsipas got a good look at how dangerous Alcaraz is at the US Open last September.
Riding his crackling topspin forehand and an audacious drop shot, Alcaraz stunned the third-seeded Tsitsipas 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2), 0-6, 7-6(5) in a coming-of-age US Open third-round conquest. The 18-year-old Spaniard made history as the youngest man to defeat a Top-3 US Open seed since 1973—and the youngest man to reach the round of 16 in Flushing Meadows since a 17-year-old Michael Chang and 18-year-old Pete Sampras did it back in 1989.
Alcaraz has backed up that result with wins over Tsitsipas in Miami and Barcelona this season, building a 28-3 record.
The 23-year-old Tsitsipas says Alcaraz is playing with a freedom and flair that reminds him of his younger self, and asserts tournament titles will be much harder to come by now.
"You can see he's very hungry. He plays very fresh and hungry, like has nothing to lose," Tsitsipas said of Alcaraz. "It kind of reminds me of my early days when I was introduced to the ATP Tour. I didn't really know what to expect along the way. I was just playing carelessly, completely free-spirited. It's a nice thing to see.
"But, of course, with that comes a lot of responsibility and you have to be able to manage that well. I'm sure he will. I see no reason he will not.
"But with him in most of the draws, the lineup is getting even tougher. I will for sure have to work harder to get the results that I ever wanted."
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