Mumbai, Sep 29 (PTI) Indian tennis legend Leander Paes on Friday said Carlos Alcaraz is the most exciting young player to have emerged in the last 10 years and praised the Spaniard for “redefining the sport” with his speed.

Paes praised the 20-year-old Alcaraz, who is currently ranked world No 2 and has two Grand Slam wins in his career so far. He has an offensive game which appeals to him a lot.

“You look at the two top ones, Iga Swiatek and Alcaraz. I think Alcaraz is probably the most exciting new player in the last decade. For me, he has redefined the game. His speed… Alcaraz has redefined the game of tennis with his speed,” Paes told the media here during an event.

“His technical knowledge of mathematics, his offensive game with a chop forehand or a drop shot — we were taught that the drop shot is a stupid shot, a ‘chaalaki shot’. My coach used to rap me on the knuckles if I played drop shot,” Paes added.

Paes, who is in the race with five other players from around the world to be included in International Tennis Hall of Fame’s class of 2024, said he was surprised to see the pair of Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri crashing out early from the race to the gold medal in the Asian Games.

“I was really surprised that Rohan and Yuki lost in that early round — did not expect that. But also really happy to see Ankita Raina win that first one. She was really unlucky in her last match that she lost; she was up two love in the first set but lost in the final set,” Paes said.

The 18-time Grand Slam winner in doubles said he was disappointed to learn about the challenges faced by Nagal, reported by

Source: PTI News