Roddick calls Carlos "the most complete 19 year old tennis player I've ever seen"

[BeatlesFan]

High praise from former #1 Andy Roddick today, speaking on American TV:

"You have to respect his feel, but then he kind of blows your head off with power, it's the perfect compliment. I'm not a victim of hyperbole, but I think he's the most complete 19 year old male tennis player that I've ever seen. Roger didn't win his first major till he was 21, Rafa wasn't great on all surfaces until he was 20, 21 or 22. With Alcaraz, there really is no weakness. The backhand used to misfire a little bit more, but no more. But man... at 19 or almost 20 years old, it's incredible to see."

https://fb.watch/kiCa7MhKAG/

 

[tennis_pro]

I agree with Roddick. It's scary to think the level that Alcaraz could reach when he's at his peak a couple of years from now.

 

[ghostofMecir]

Hehe this is why the Rafito fans don’t like him.

 

[pj80]

I agree with Roddick. It's scary to think the level that Alcaraz could reach when he's at his peak a couple of years from now.

Some say here that Rafa did not improve and become a better after 2006 (see the thread Fed/Rafa 2006 Shaghai thread).
So maybe Alcaline wont improve much either mabe he capped his skills already.

 

[Rattie]

Hehe this is why the Rafito fans don’t like him.

Not true.

 

[Slicehand]

i think its pretty onvious to anyone that has watched and played enough tennis

 

[Federev]

High praise from former #1 Andy Roddick today, speaking on American:

"You have to respect his feel, but then he kind of blows your head off with power, it's the perfect compliment. I'm not a victim of hyperbole, but I think he's the most complete 19 year old male tennis player that I've ever seen. Roger didn't win his first major till he was 21, Rafa wasn't great on all surfaces until he was 20, 21 or 22. With Alcaraz, there really is no weakness. The backhand used to misfire a little bit more, but no more. But man... at 19 or almost 20 years old, it's incredible to see."

https://fb.watch/kiCa7MhKAG/

He gets hurt a lot for 19-20.

And it’s no coincidence that he plays a pretty punishing style.

 

[Hitman]

He is a truly unique talent and has great maturity in his game for someone who is about to turn 20. He is also a trailblazer, the only teenager in history to accomplish the 3 big milestones in tennis. Win a slam, become world number one, and become year ending number one.

 

[jl809]

Factually this is surely nonsense, right? Nadal was more complete than him at 19, his 05 season was far more balanced than Carlitos’ and he even won an indoor title. And both of them bowed out early on grass.

What will be interesting is to see how Alcaraz carries forward his HC form into slams in the next couple of years as this is an area where YoungDal totally disappointed. He could win titles at IW etc but didn’t show up properly until 09 at a slam. Whereas I can see Alcaraz winning the FO AND going deep in HC Bo5 too with regularity by 2025. He could well be the most complete 21 yo ever for example.

 

[fafa]

High praise from former #1 Andy Roddick today, speaking on American:

"You have to respect his feel, but then he kind of blows your head off with power, it's the perfect compliment. I'm not a victim of hyperbole, but I think he's the most complete 19 year old male tennis player that I've ever seen. Roger didn't win his first major till he was 21, Rafa wasn't great on all surfaces until he was 20, 21 or 22. With Alcaraz, there really is no weakness. The backhand used to misfire a little bit more, but no more. But man... at 19 or almost 20 years old, it's incredible to see."

https://fb.watch/kiCa7MhKAG/

You're wrong Andy, Alcaraz isn't great on grass.

 

[DSH]

Hehe this is why the Rafito fans don’t like him.

You are another one of those who likes to generalize without first speaking with foundations.
I already said it, Alcaraz will be better than Nadal on a hard court but not on clay.
The ace up the sleeve would be Wimbledon.
There it is defined who of the two will be the greatest of their country.

 

[fafa]

He is a truly unique talent and has great maturity in his game for someone who is about to turn 20. He is also a trailblazer, the only teenager in history to accomplish the 3 big milestones in tennis. Win a slam, become world number one, and become year ending number one.

"Easy" to achieve when the other contender wasn't able to play 10k points. Rafa would've been world number one in 2006 and Roger would've been out of the top 100.

 

[Topspin_80]

You're wrong Andy, Alcaraz isn't great on grass.

Watch this coming Wimbledon, you are going to see Carlitos going all the way!

 

[MichaelNadal]

Hehe this is why the Rafito fans don’t like him.

Unless he breaks Rafa’s records im not bothered lol. Tennis desperately needs him right now.

 

[Hitman]

"Easy" to achieve when the other contender wasn't able to play 10k points. Rafa would've been world number one in 2006 and Roger would've been out of the top 100.

It is what it is. It was still only a teenager that managed to do it while an entire field of players who did play everything couldn't. Alcaraz deserves all that he achieved.

 

[TheNachoMan]

Rome 05 and RG 05 Nadal would slap him up.

 

[Rosstour]

He gets hurt a lot for 19-20.

And it’s no coincidence that he plays a pretty punishing style.

Silent bans

Factually this is surely nonsense, right? Nadal was more complete than him at 19, his 05 season was far more balanced than Carlitos’ and he even won an indoor title. And both of them bowed out early on grass.

Rafa didn't reach #1 until 22; Charles did it at 19.

And Rafa didn't have to go through Rafa to get there, Alcaraz has. That alone should break the "tie"

 

[Federev]

Silent bans

Did you see the Gilbert tweet too? (sadly deleted now)

 

[fafa]

Did you see the Gilbert tweet too? (sadly deleted now)

What did the tweet say?

 

[fafa]

Watch this coming Wimbledon, you are going to see Carlitos going all the way!

I will, but he'll be 20 already.

 

[Jonesy]

I'm even more impressed with his mental game. He is always doing refocus loops.

 

[jl809]

Silent bans



Rafa didn't reach #1 until 22; Charles did it at 19.

And Rafa didn't have to go through Rafa to get there, Alcaraz has. That alone should break the "tie"

What happened to you man

 

[NonP]

Carlos is indeed the real deal, but nothing I've seen from him has yet to touch Pistol's '90 USO masterclass:

No wonder Budge tapped the 19-year-old kid to become the next guy to win THE Grand Slam. Of course that didn't quite come true cuz mah boy didn't give a crap about pu$$y tennis on dirt.

But not even Pete was as fully developed as Boris at age 17:

These two are the crème de la crème among OE prodigies. Carlos can hash it out with his countryman Bull (and Borg) for the bronze.

 

[TheNachoMan]

What happened to you man

Fed falling down to 3rd has scrambled a few brains on here. lol

 

[Federev]

What did the tweet say?

@WildRevolver knows!

 

[GabeT]

Hehe this is why the Rafito fans don’t like him.

I’m a Novak fan and I like him. If he goes on to break some or all of Novak’s records, good for him!

 

[Azure]

I find hyperboles discrediting of past greats in general. To Roddick’s he says ‘that I have seen’ so one might assume he didn’t see some of the past legends.

 

[Federev]

What did the tweet say?

Also - just kidding. I don’t think Tiny Carlos does drugs.

 

[socallefty]

He is not saying it based on assessing his achievements as a teen, but in terms of his completeness as a tennis player. I agree after watching him play at Indian Wells in the last two years. Many strengths including some unique ones (blazing speed, incomparable feel), no real weaknesses and strong self-belief.

 

[Incognito]

Hehe this is why the Rafito fans don’t like him.

Are you kidding me? I want Rafa to win more majors but I wont be mad if Carlos wins 30 majors.

 

[Deleted member 791948]

Imagine being a commentator and having to hear that awful sound Alcaraz makes after he hits each ball, its pure torture, and Roddick will have to listen to it constantly for a long time....

 

[Incognito]

Some say here that Rafa did not improve and become a better after 2006 (see the thread Fed/Rafa 2006 Shaghai thread).
So maybe Alcaline wont improve much either mabe he capped his skills already.

All he needs to do is tone down the celebrations and showboating and focus on every point and he will become even better. His backhand and serve could still be improved. He already has the greatest fh in the game today.

 

[fafa]

Also - just kidding. I don’t think Tiny Carlos does drugs.

You never know ...

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

High praise from former #1 Andy Roddick today, speaking on American TV:

"You have to respect his feel, but then he kind of blows your head off with power, it's the perfect compliment. I'm not a victim of hyperbole, but I think he's the most complete 19 year old male tennis player that I've ever seen. Roger didn't win his first major till he was 21, Rafa wasn't great on all surfaces until he was 20, 21 or 22. With Alcaraz, there really is no weakness. The backhand used to misfire a little bit more, but no more. But man... at 19 or almost 20 years old, it's incredible to see."

https://fb.watch/kiCa7MhKAG/

How could somebody be this wrong?
Nadal was a much better player in all departments at the similar age.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Roddick is 100% right. Nadal fans won't like him but just like Novak is the most complete player far ahead of Rafa with clay bullying, 19 year old Carlito is complete player ahead of 19 year old Rafa who lost to Wild Card James Blake in R3 USOpen. It is what it is.

 

[nolefam_2024]

I will say this as well, Carlito may not even get as much injured as Nadal in a year or so. This talk of him being brittle is cheap. His issues are not major.
He will never be as a freak as peak Nadal I think but his avg is going to be fitter and more evened than the KOC.

 

[Deleted member 791948]

Roddick is 100% right. Nadal fans won't like him but just like Novak is the most complete player far ahead of Rafa with clay bullying, 19 year old Carlito is complete player ahead of 19 year old Rafa who lost to Wild Card James Blake in R3 USOpen. It is what it is.

I wonder if Alcaraz will ever win 10 Slams, because Rune is already better than Alcaraz on hardcourt, and Rune is improving on clay too so will eventually rule clay too.
Rune will win between 10 and 25 Slams, so not sure if Alcaraz will win much, plus Alcaraz is injury-prone, and most injury-prone players don't last long, unlike Nadal the ultimate warrior.

 

[nolefam_2024]

I wonder if Alcaraz will ever win 10 Slams, because Rune is already better than him on hardcourt, and Rune is improving on clay too so will eventually rule clay too.

Good luck to Rune and hopefully he will provide challenge. Doesn't matter. Novak has 22 and Rafa has 22. A single Rune will not be able to contain the Tsunami that is Carlos. Its going to happen.

 

[Deleted member 791948]

Good luck to Rune and hopefully he will provide challenge. Doesn't matter. Novak has 22 and Rafa has 22. A single Rune will not be able to contain the Tsunami that is Carlos. Its going to happen.

Alcaraz doesn't do anything better than Rune, except get injured.
Rune broke Alcaraz's mind and body last year at Paris.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Alcaraz doesn't do anything better than Rune, except get injured.

I have seen Rune very few times and he has not impressed me much. But let's see how their career progresses. Alcaraz will play 50 slams at the very least. Rune can't stop him 40 times. Rune and Sinner combined won't stop him 40 times.

 

[NonP]

Factually this is surely nonsense, right? Nadal was more complete than him at 19, his 05 season was far more balanced than Carlitos’ and he even won an indoor title. And both of them bowed out early on grass.

What will be interesting is to see how Alcaraz carries forward his HC form into slams in the next couple of years as this is an area where YoungDal totally disappointed. He could win titles at IW etc but didn’t show up properly until 09 at a slam. Whereas I can see Alcaraz winning the FO AND going deep in HC Bo5 too with regularity by 2025. He could well be the most complete 21 yo ever for example.

Obviously A-Rod was talking in more technical terms, and Carlos is indeed more versatile than 19-year-old Rafa ever was. OTOH '05 Bull's peak on dirt trumps anything Carlitos has produced anywhere so far. So it's a matter of preference, really.

Not so much, though. vs. Boris and Pistol cuz their serve/service game alone gives 'em a virtually insurmountable advantage on anything but clay. Not to mention their precocious all-court power game which floored just about every insider at the time. Sure you could quibble and add that they were still somewhat green at the net, but compared to the rest of the tour? Well above average, and few if any could hit winners from all parts of the court with as much ease as those two.

I'm guessing you know this already but below is Kriek's verdict after Becker dispatched him in straights at '85 Queen's:

“If he plays like that every day at Wimbledon, Becker can win the tournament,” Kriek said. “On top of his serve, he hits some incredible shots.”

Quite a vote of confidence for a 17-year-old kid from a vet 10 years his senior. Of course we know that's exactly what happened three weeks later.

And Pistol if anything was even more untouchable in his justly legendary '90 USO run. That and Boris' '86 Wimby are up there with anything from any ATG at whatever age. The same can't be said of Carlos' run last year which may not even make the top 100 USO performances of the OE. Bull's '05 RG admittedly rates higher on terre battue, but still below those two showcases from inspired teenage Boris and Pistol.

BTW you make the common mistake of putting too much stock in Bull's W at '05 Madrid which was missing Fraud, Rusty, Marat and Dre among other top names. Still an impressive title no doubt, but it's roughly on par with Pistol's '94 Rome which, of course, nobody would argue was among the toughest Masters.

I find hyperboles discrediting of past greats in general. To Roddick’s he says ‘that I have seen’ so one might assume he didn’t see some of the past legends.

That's his very job and like you said he did add that qualifier. I wouldn't be so picky about it.

 

[Azure]

Obviously A-Rod was talking in more technical terms, and Carlos is indeed more versatile than 19-year-old Rafa ever was. OTOH '05 Bull's peak on dirt trumps anything Carlitos has produced anywhere so far. So it's a matter of preference, really.

Not so much, though. vs. Boris and Pistol cuz their serve/service game alone gives 'em a virtually insurmountable advantage on anything but clay. Not to mention their precocious all-court power game which floored just about every insider at the time. Sure you could quibble and add that they were still somewhat green at the net, but compared to the rest of the tour? Well above average, and few if any could hit winners from all parts of the court with as much ease as those two.

I'm guessing you know this already but below is Kriek's verdict after Becker dispatched him in straights at '85 Queen's:


Quite a vote of confidence for a 17-year-old kid from a vet 10 years his senior. Of course we know that's exactly what happened three weeks later.

And Pistol if anything was even more untouchable in his justly legendary '90 USO run. That and Boris' '86 Wimby are up there with anything from any ATG at whatever age. The same can't be said of Carlos' run last year which may not even make the top 100 USO performances of the OE. Bull's '05 RG admittedly rates higher on terre battue, but still below those two showcases from inspired teenage Boris and Pistol.

BTW you make the common mistake of putting too much stock in Bull's W at '05 Madrid which was missing Fraud, Rusty, Marat and Dre among other top names. Still an impressive title no doubt, but it's roughly on par with Pistol's '94 Rome which, of course, nobody would argue was among the toughest Masters.


That's his very job and like you said he did add that qualifier. I wouldn't be so picky about it.

Oops I missed the word ‘credit’ there haha - was typing with my left hand there!

Oh I am not picky here. Just an observation on how people react to anything thats the talk of the town today. I don’t mind that tennis finally has someone to talk about!

 

[ghostofMecir]

Imagine being a commentator and having to hear that awful sound Alcaraz makes after he hits each ball, its pure torture, and Roddick will have to listen to it constantly for a long time....

How could somebody be this wrong?
Nadal was a much better player in all departments at the similar age

Not true.

See the comments above. Or see any of the comments from @clayqueen

 

[Shaolin]

He is an incredibly complete player for any age.

 

[NeutralFan]

Alcaraz doesn't do anything better than Rune, except get injured.
Rune broke Alcaraz's mind and body last year at Paris.

Same Rune who is losing to Fokina of all people.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Same Rune who is losing to Fokina of all people.

Lol really such a joke. Don't compare with Carlito as of yet. Maybe in future he can become better. Not now

 

[The_Order]

Great on all surfaces part... we haven't seen anything from Carlos to suggest he's great on grass yet.

Not Carlos' fault that he's playing in this era as a teen... but I'm yet to see him take a scalp like Rafa did to Federer at RG05.

So maybe Andy is purely referring to his tennis skillset. But mentality is HUGE in this sport. Does he have the mental edge that the big 3 had? He's going to have to start knocking Nadal and Djokovic out of contention for slams. Not something too farfetched given they're into their mid-late 30's now.

Time will tell if he can manage that.

 

[The_Order]

Same Rune who is losing to Fokina of all people.

Fokina can be a tough customer on clay... just ask Djokovic...

 

[NeutralFan]

Fokina can be a tough customer on clay... just ask Djokovic...

Djokovic was just returning in action and was rusty when he faced Fokina.

 

[BeatlesFan]

How could somebody be this wrong?
Nadal was a much better player in all departments at the similar age.

Try to be objective. Rafa did not have either the drop shot or volley that Alcaraz has at 19. Nowhere close.Alcatraz also has the better serve by far if we compare them both at 19.