Google News
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray is impressed with how physically strong already Carlos Acaraz is. Alcaraz, 18, claimed a 6-3 6-4 win over Murray in Vienna to reach the quatrterfinal in his debut at the tournament.
After the match, Murray was asked by Chris Oddo if there was anything Alcaraz does surprisingly well, given that he's just 18. "He hits the ball really hard. Yeah, he hits the ball really hard from the back of the court, and I'd probably say like physically, I don't really like comparing like myself to other young players, but if I think back to when I was 18 in comparison to him, from a physical perspective he is unbelievably strong," Murray said.
"It wouldn't surprise me if he did really well in a Slam and was able to win long matches, like long five-set matches, already. A lot of younger players when they are 18, 19, are not physically ready for that. I'd say that's probably the thing that sort of stands out, physically he seems, very, very strong.
He is obviously an excellent mover around the court as well, so that's a big positive. "Hopefuly he can continue to build on that and improve on that as well."
Alcaraz was thrilled to beat Murray
Murray will go down as a tennis legend and Alcaraz was thrilled to have a win over Murray in his resume.
“For me it’s a great feeing to play against Andy Murray and to be able to beat him,” Alcaraz said in his post-match interview. “I played really, really well and I’m just really happy for the performance today”.
Alcaraz and Murray also met this past Indian Wells Masters and the Briton ended on the winning side in their first meeting. “Indian Wells was the first time that I met Andy Murray on court and now I knew a little bit more [about] Andy Murray, so I just knew his game, how to play,” Alcaraz said. “I was just trying to play aggressive, not let him play his game”.