Zverev: “Alcaraz is on a different level”

Carlos Alcaraz went to Madrid with a clear mission, defending last year’s title and lifting the trophy before heading to Paris to play Roland Garros.

The current US Open champion is on the right track to achieving his goal, as he dispatched Alexander Zverev in two sets (6-1, 6-2) in only one hour and 23 minutes.

Zverev, who defeated Alcaraz in last year’s French Open, gave his take on the Spaniard’s game in the post-match interview.

“Carlos Alcaraz is one of the best players in the world and is on a different level to me at the moment”, he said.

“Well done, Carlos Alcaraz, and hope to see you soon during a more competitive match again”, Zverev added.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz admitted that he expected a closer match against an opponent who had given him much trouble during the last French Open.

“It’s been a question mark for me, this result is not normal for me. I played great, I feel really good right now and this match is giving me a lot of confidence”, he said.

More than a defeat for Zverev

Alcaraz was the favorite to come out on top, but very few expected he would get the job done that fast and so efficiently, as he won the game without conceding a break point on his serve.

In the end, their clash was quite similar to the last edition’s final, where the Murcia native ended up lifting the trophy by defeating Zverev also in two comfortable sets (6-3, 6-1).

Zverev’s loss will have bad consequences for him in the ATP ranking. The current world No. 16 will lose 510 points to drop down to the 22nd position when the list is updated next Monday.

Alcaraz is considered by many the main favorite to win Roland Garros, as both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are recovering from their injury issues and the 19-year-old is in red-hot form.