Carlos Alcaraz gives his honest verdict on Arthur Fils as a player after knocking out of the Monte Carlo Masters

Carlos Alcaraz took on Arthur Fils for the first time on the ATP circuit, and the match between two of the game’s future stars lived up to the billing in Monte Carlo.

In fairness, it will be Fils who looks back on the match with the most regret.

He had a golden chance to send Alcaraz packing, but fluffed his line with a terrible miss during the game that would have gifted him a straight-sets victory.

Fils is a little bit further back on the path to greatness than today’s opponent, but at 20-years-old, it looks like he will make waves in the future.

The Frenchman is being coached by Sebastien Grosjean and there will be a few development points that he can give him after it was Alcaraz who emerged victorious in Monte Carlo.

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Carlos Alcaraz gives verdict on Arthur Fils after beating him in Monte Carlo

Alcaraz is a star of the modern game, and with four major titles to his name already, beating Fils is hardly a shock result.

However, the chances were there for the French performer in this 6-4, 5-7, 3-6 defeat against Alcaraz.

Afterwards, the world number 15 was praised by Alcaraz who was, as ever, spoke extremely kindly of his opponent.

He said in his on-court interview: Honestly, I just wanted to stay strong and wait for my chances. In the first set, he started playing well and a few mistakes from myself, but I think his level is pretty high right now, he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents.

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“I think in some moments he just made a few mistakes that I tried to make the most of, a few free points, trying to wait for a chance and then take it. In the second set, I saved break points at 5-4 and then made the only break point I made that set.

“In the third set, I tried to be there and play good tennis. I just tried to keep going. Play aggressively, be strong physically and mentally and wait for my chances.”

At one point in the match, Alcaraz played an outrageous drop shot and he admitted that the particular shot is what he loves about the clay season.

He said: “That’s why I said that I miss clay. I think on clay it’s easier to play the drop shots. That is a weapon that I use a lot and I feel comfortable using it. Matches like this one, I won almost every drop shot that I hit, give me more confidence to keep doing it.”

Alcaraz goes behind Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in ATP Masters 1000 list

Alcaraz is going to break all sorts of records during his career, and he’s edging closer towards another one with this win.

Opta Ace confirms that after beating Fils, Alcaraz is the third player since the format’s introduction in 1990 to win 70 ATP Masters 1000 main draw matches before turning 22, after Nadal and Djokovic.

Given that Alcaraz only has a year before he turns 22, he’s not going to sit at the top of the list, but beating Djokovic, who is second on the list, on 75 looks like a foregone conclusion.

Alcaraz now has another semi-final to look forward to and given everything that went on in the match with Fils, perhaps his name will be etched on the trophy on Sunday afternoon.

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