Aussie tennis great Wally Masur believes Carlos Alcaraz is taking men’s tennis to another level.
The Spanish No.1 seed and US Open defending champion will this morning take on Alexander Zverev for a spot in the semi-final having dropped just a single set from his first four matches.
Zverev, meanwhile, is coming off a gruelling five-setter against Jannik Sinner that saw the German not only dealing with the pressure from across the net, but “unacceptable” Nazi language coming from the crowd.
Masur said Alcaraz should win comfortably.
“He’s got game – he hasn’t just gotten to where he’s gotten by accident,” he said on Stan Sports’ Grand Slam Daily. “And when you’ve got game, you can solve problems.”
Masur said like many before him, Alcaraz was “advancing” the mens game.
“Great players bring something to the sport and take it to another level. Pete Sampras with the platform serve, Andre Agassi with the full blooded drives off returns close to the base line, Boris Becker brought a new level of power.
“Alcaraz is finding the blend between power, touch, control, accuracy, all-court tennis and he’s just bringing it all together and he’s taking a few of the boys along for the ride.”
Despite that, Masur said he won’t have it all his own way against Zverev.
“Alcaraz likes to make things happen, and it’s hard to make things happen against Zverev.
“He’s got the big serve, his backhand is heavy, he really hits through it, it stays deep in the court. The forehand can be a bit shaky but it’s a fine shot in general.
“It’s going to be tough for Carlos. If Zverev plays like he did against Sinner, Alcaraz isn’t going to have it all his own way.
“He’s probably going to have to do more defending than maybe he would like.”