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Casper Ruud has hailed Carlos Alcaraz as a 'rare' talent, considering the teenager's imperious exploits this year.
The Spaniard, 19, has been on a tear this season, winning 28 matches and a tour-leading four titles. That includes Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid, making him the youngest player in nearly two decades to do so.
Alcaraz is not playing the ongoing Rome Masters due to a sprained ankle, but he continues to dominate the discourse at the Foro Italico. Ruud, who reached the Rome quarterfinals on Thursday, spoke about Alcaraz in glowing terms.
"I think we should all just appreciate how good he is," he began. "He is a rare talent that we have all been talking about for already some time now, and he's still so young. I mean, he's been one of the best players of the world this year. Let's see if he can keep it going."
The World No. 1 added that it remains to be seen how Alcaraz will cope with the increased expectations and new challenges.
"Everything is also new for him," he continued. "I guess at some point everyone will face challenges in their career. It will be interesting to see how it goes for the rest of the year because the pressure will be different for him now, people will know him a little bit more."
The Norwegian, who has lost twice to Alcaraz in as many meetings, including in his first Masters 1000 final in Miami, revealed that he is pining for revenge.
"It's motivating to see that a young player can do big results like this. I lost to him two times. I wish to have my revenge someday. Hopefully we can play more big matches. My biggest match of my career I played against him, he was able to win. Like I said, I hope I can have my revenge someday," he said.
Carlos Alcaraz created records galore at Madrid Masters
Carlos Alcaraz is quite literally the man of the moment despite not playing in Rome this week.
His impressive title run in Madrid made him the youngest champion in the 20-year history of the tournament. Along the way, he beat Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and Novak Djokovic in the semis. That made him the seventh player overall, and the first player on clay, to beat the two legends in consecutive matches at the same tournament.
By beating Alexander Zverev in the final, Alcaraz became the youngest player in 32 years to beat three top-five players in the same tournament.
The World No. 6 will now look to breach his compatriot Nadal's Roland Garros bastion, where the latter has won a staggering 13 titles.
