Carlos Alcaraz behaviour scrutinised with Andre Agassi comparison as Ben Shelton beaten at Canadian Open

Carlos Alcaraz Canadian Open

Carlos Alcaraz is hoping to win the Canadian Open after overcoming Ben Shelton threat

PA
Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 10/08/2023

- 09:25

The 20-year-old has been in the spotlight ever since his sensational Wimbledon triumph last month

Chris Evert’s ex-husband John Lloyd can't see Carlos Alcaraz partying hard like former world No 1 Andre Agassi.

The Spaniard is the talk of the tennis world, having won two Grand Slam titles during his short career so far.


Yet while Lloyd admires the 20-year-old for his tennis ability, he thinks the sport is crying out for characters like Agassi.

"We need superstars like Andre Agassi. He was regularly spotted with female celebrities,” he said.

Andre Agassi tennis

Andre Agassi won eight Grand Slam titles during his tennis career

PA

“For me it just makes our sport… it just goes above the level that it’s at when you’ve got superstars that people that don’t even like tennis but like Agassi… he was a crossover star.

"Everybody knew Agassi because he was not just a great tennis player but because of his off-court activities as well.

"Nick Kyrgios… I mean he’s taken now… but I think would have been some example of who would do that if it was made available to him but you see Nick hasn’t won enough matches… you’ve got to be a damn good player to do that otherwise people aren’t interested."

He continued: "Someone, I think who is going to win so many tournaments anyways is Carlos Alcaraz and I think he has got a certain look about him.

“Once his English gets better which it will… He’s not afraid of the cameras.

"But I can’t really see him going out to nightclubs with young ladies on his arm… I might be wrong but I can’t see that.”

Alcaraz seems to be a different character to Agassi.

The Spaniard keeps a low profile away from tennis and still lives with his family in a modest apartment in Spain.

Alcaraz is currently competing at the Canadian Open, with the US Open due to commence later this month.

And he was too strong for American Ben Shelton during their showdown in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Alcaraz powered his way to a 6-3, 7-6 win to set up a showdown with Hubert Hurkacz in the round of 16.

The youngster then proceeded to praise his opponent, insisting he was 'really tough' to beat.

"He's really, really tough," said the two-time Grand Slam winner.

"So he's a real aggressive one. He didn't let me play my game that is aggressive going to the net.

"So he did it almost every time. So he's really nice.

"It was tough to get my rhythm. He hits the ball so, so strong. So I couldn't find my game, the good rhythm.

"For me, it's better to start a tournament with good rallies, long ones, to get into the match, get into the rallies.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

Ben Shelton Canadian Open

Ben Shelton was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz at the Canadian Open on Thursday morning

PA

"But usually every match is a different war, and you have to adapt your game into that."

You may like