Jim Courier points out where Carlos Alcaraz is even ahead of Rafael Nadal as he reaches the French Open final
Carlos Alcaraz is into another French Open final, having beaten Lorenzo Musetti this afternoon.
The match started off as if it was due to be a long, drawn-out affair, but once the 22-year-old got firing it became one-way traffic.
He brushed off the setback of losing the first set to wrestle the second in a tiebreak before bagelling the Italian in the third.
However, it swiftly became clear that something was wrong with Musetti, a notion confirmed when he called for the trainer. His movement had slowed and the match had got away from him, leading to his sad retirement.
Despite that, Andre Agassi was still left stunned by what he had seen, with Jim Courier going as far as to state that Carlos Alcaraz has surpassed Rafael Nadal in one key area.
Carlos Alcaraz told the area of his game where he’s surpassed Rafael Nadal
Given his current trajectory, the young Spaniard is actually on track to mimic what his legendary compatriot did in terms of Grand Slams won, such is the scale of his winning record at these elite events.
At just 22 years old, Alcaraz is a mainstay at the latter stages of almost every event he participates in, with the French Open his latest favourite after making Wimbledon his own too.
His game is perfectly moulded for every surface, but clay in particular is proving a true success. Agassi started his praise by stating: ‘I mean, look at the average speed of his forehand compared to his fastest. He never knows what’s coming off the racket and what that doesn’t say is how feathery his touch is as well.’
Courier would follow that up by comparing Alcaraz to Nadal, noting: ‘And with that forehand, just to put those numbers into context, that’s the same type of rotation on the forehand that Nadal got in his career, which revolutionised the sport. Don’t take my word for it, Andre had to play it. But the speed of the shot is so much greater than Rafa’s.
‘Rafa’s forehand was in the high 70s. If you can hit it that hard with that much control, it can cause problems and force you to basically push your body past its limits, which is what happened with Musetti.’
Andre Agassi praised one area of Alcaraz’s game that’s changed, but some traits he boasts are simply so good they barely need improvement.
Carlos Alcaraz reaches yet another French Open final
It seems that, once Alcaraz decides he likes an event, he develops a fascination with winning it.
At Wimbledon, he was not content with claiming a dramatic five-set victory over Novak Djokovic, so had to follow that up by crushing the 24-time Grand Slam champion in straights.
And, having reached the French Open last year, he seems poised to mimic that feat on the Parisian clay.
He is yet to learn who his opponent will be, but knows that it will either be Djokovic again or Jannik Sinner, his generational rival who he overcame at this event last year.
Neither will pose an easy afternoon for Alcaraz on Sunday, but the tennis community is at least guaranteed a blockbuster clash as one of these two superstars seeks to wrestle the title from the defending champion.
