Carlos Alcaraz will begin his Cincinnati Open campaign against tour veteran Gael Monfils.
Ahead of their showdown, the Frenchman made a bold statement about his rival as he previewed the match.
Having peaked in the era of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Monfils explained how Alcaraz compared to the Big Three.
Monfils and Alcaraz couldn’t be in more different positions in their careers. At the age of 37, former world No. 6 Monfils knows that he is beginning to wind down. Meanwhile, Alcaraz is at the start of an exciting journey and has already won four Grand Slam titles aged 21.
The pair have already faced off once this year with the Spaniard coming out on top in Miami. And Monfils has been full of praise for his opponent ahead of their third career meeting. “He’s a complete athlete, in terms of speed, endurance, power,” the current world No. 46 told Tennis Channel.
“And then his tennis, of course, is quite complete, too. Backhand, forehand, it’s quite hard to see where you can (hit). He improved a lot on the return, he’s serving big. He’s just a really complete player.”
The 12-time title winner knows exactly what it feels like to face the greats at the top of their game. And he made a striking claim as he suggested that Alcaraz had already cemented the Big Three-type legend status.
Monfils added: “At the moment, I see him (the same) as Novak, as Rafa, as Roger, for me. He’s just a bit younger, but he’s already a legend.” And the Frenchman admits he relishes battling it out against tennis’ next generation of superstars.
“For me, it’s always cool to play such a big star like Carlos or Jannik – or of course, in my day it was Novak, Rafa, Roger. But to play those youngsters, it’s always a pleasure,” he continued. “Tomorrow, it’s gonna be great fun for me. Obviously, really tough, but it’s gonna be something that I will remember for a couple years.”
Monfils has already earned a huge scalp at the Cincinnati Open. He faced newly-crowned Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin in the first round. And the 37-year-old immediately ended the Aussie’s winning streak, beating him 7-5 6-3.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk