Carlos Alcaraz has been lauded by Steve Johnson for his ability to make a very impressive return from injury at the US Open.
Alcaraz missed more than four months of the season with a wrist injury, but is now into the US Open quarterfinals in his first tournament back.
Chasing an eighth career Grand Slam, Alcaraz beat Tommy Paul in his latest match, which has now been analyzed by former ATP players Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson and John Isner.
What would you consider a success for Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open?
He hasn’t played since April…
Carlos Alcaraz praised for emulating ‘insane’ Roger Federer talent
Discussing the Spaniard on the Nothing Major Show, Querrey said: “Carlos Alcaraz takes down Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. I’ve been saying it the whole time: Carlos is back.
“He hasn’t missed a beat. But now everyone is saying it, right? He’s back. He looks flawless. Tommy played well.”
Issuing his verdict, Johnson said: “He pulls out just another classic, just Carlos, he’s back, he’s back.
“There were question marks prior to the event, because we were all getting the news and the info of, the week before, he’s losing practise sets, he looks bad, yada, yada, yada.
“Here we go. Carlos is back. He played insane, and he smothered Tommy from first ball. It’s crazy how these guys can just go out for four-and-a-half months, whatever it was.
“I’m saying Roger [Federer] back in the day. He’d take time off. Rafa [Nadal] would take time off. Novak [Djokovic] was out for a little bit.
“They just come back and they don’t skip a beat. They’re so good that they don’t need reps. It’s insane.
“It was like six weeks ago that we saw those videos of Carlos with that broken half racket doing half swings in his court in Spain somewhere.
“Now he’s just 100% ready to go. He looks unbeatable. It’s a bummer for Tommy because he was playing great, but he had no shot at this one.
“Carlos was a joke, hitting balls so hard. When he’s in a rhythm like that, you got nothing going on. It’s over.”
And when asked by Querrey if Alcaraz’s ruthless return deflates the confidence of other players in the locker room, Isner said: “No, no. I don’t think so at all. It just doesn’t deflate their overall confidence.
“That’s what I’m saying. It doesn’t deflate their will to go out there and try to have a great tournament. I don’t think so.”
That may be true for many ATP players, but it certainly must be worrying how quickly the Spaniard has found his feet after such a lengthy absence.
John Isner thinks Ben Shelton can beat Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open
Intriguingly, Alcaraz is far from finished with American opponents at the US Open, with Ben Shelton up next for the 23-year-old.
Previewing the clash, Isner said of Shelton: “I think he can beat Carlos. He’s hitting the ball just huge. It’s going to be an easier hold than Tommy. He’s just hitting the ball big.
“He’s getting forehands when he wants. It’s probably a little more difficult against Carlos. I think he can beat Carlos. In my head, Carlos is a 58% favourite.”
Where do you rank Ben Shelton on the list of favorites for the US Open title?
He has never won a Grand Slam title…
And Johnson added: “He’s looked really good, but there’s a step up in weight class there from [Stefanos] Tsitsipas to Carlos.
“Can you play like that against Carlos? Can you just use his athleticism, his heaviness, to the Carlos backhand?
“It’s tricky because it’s a completely different matchup. Carlos has played unreal. He might play a couple of loose games at some point in this event, and you never know.
“But the way Ben is playing, this is the best I think he’s played. He had some serious returning problems early in this year.
“He was one of the worst returners out of the guys in the top 50 leading into Montreal. Wins Montreal, and then has carried that momentum.
“He works on his return, I don’t know, it seems like two hours every day. I watch him warm up and all he does is hit returns. Returns, returns and returns.
“So he knows what he has to get better at. He’s going to work on it. He’s a dog. I mean, he’s an athlete, he’s a dog. He’s going to get better at it.
“This is going to be an all-time matchup. I want an all-time match. That’s what I want.”
It should be a blockbuster meeting at Arthur Ashe Stadium, although the Spaniard has thus far dominated their head-to-head, winning all three of their previous meetings.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
