‘Must Not Believe His Own Hype’- Legend Boris Becker Warns Carlos Alcaraz of the Damage Stardom Can Cause

Carlos Alcaraz, the 18-year-old Spaniard, turned professional in the year 2018. Although it’s just been four years since his debut, he has marked his name on tennis. Carlos became the third-youngest player to win a Masters event after winning the Miami Open this year. Further, he achieved the career highest ranking of world no. 11 on 4th April.

Though he had a great run on hard court season. However, he has took an early exit in this year’s first clay-based tournament. Thus, luring in mixed reactions from players and fans.

What Does Boris Becker Think of Carlos Alcaraz?

Boris Becker, the former German tennis professional, and six times Grand Slam winner recently spoke about the young blood. While he admires the potential Carlos harbours, he also fears that the spotlight will ruin his game. He said, “He must not believe his own hype now. “He’s not the best yet. The way he played this year, there was only one player who was better, and he is also from Spain (Nadal).”

Further, he spoke about how Carlos should take some time off the game since he’s been playing consecutive tournaments from the beginning of this year. He pressed on the fact that his body requires rest by saying, “The clay court season is exhausting, the matches are longer. He has to take a break because he’s only human. When you continue to play tired, the first injuries occur. It is very important to find the fine line between what is good in tournaments and matches and what is too much?”
Read more: ‘I Lost, Didn’t Die’ – Carlos Alcaraz Following his First-Round Disappointment at Monte Carlo Masters

Alcaraz’s Performance This Year

Carlos Alcaraz  kick started the year by claiming the title at the clay courts of Rio Open. Following this, he challenged some of the best tennis players of this generation on the hard courts. He breezed past players such as Monfils and Norrie in Indian Wells by defeating them in straight sets.

However, his chain of dominating victories was brought to an end in the semifinals by a fellow Spanish and one of the big three players, Rafael Nadal. Thereafter, Carlos took a fresh start in the Miami Open. He thrashed world no.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas and defending champion, Hubert Hurkacz on his way to the crown.

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The Spaniard has given a rather subpar performance in the first tournament of clay season. He lost his very first match of Monte Carlo Masters against Sebastian Korda. Even so, tennis fans have high hopes of him performing well in the upcoming Barcelona Open.