"Andy Roddick would be grinning" – Andre Agassi and Roddick's former coach on Nicolas Jarry's "massive" serve against Carlos Alcaraz in Rio

Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick’s former coach Brad Gilbert has lauded Nicolas Jarry’s for his serving prowess against Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Rio Open.

Alcaraz survived an exciting three-setter against former World No. 38 Jarry to reach his second final in 2023. Alcaraz was subjected to brutal hitting from the Chilean player, who dished out some high-speed serves and kept the World No. 2 on his toes with his groundstrokes.

The Spaniard, who mostly played catch-up with Jarry in the first two sets, found his groove in the third to keep his title defense hopes alive with a 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-0 victory.

After his crucial triumph, Alcaraz acknowledged Jarry’s effort and called his powerful shot-making “dangerous” for any opponent.

"Nico has incredible power, incredible serve, he has strikes to make it difficult for any player," Carlos Alcaraz said after his match win, “He is a very dangerous player.”

Gilbert was also impressed by Jarry’s serving prowess on clay. The Chilean dished out a fierce 141.6 mph (228 kmph) serve during the match against Alcaraz.

Gilbert noted that the serve was reminiscent of a vintage Andy Roddick, who recorded numerous serves of even greater speeds – with many over 143 mph and the fastest being 155 mph at the 2004 Davis Cup.

"Ben & Jarry (Nicolas Jarry) 228 K’s on clay at night is massive. 141.6 is a bomb. Andy Roddick would be grinning at that pace," he remarked.

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"I wouldn’t be surprised at all " – Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick's former coach Brad Gilbert on Carlos Alcaraz being a multi-Grand Slam champion

Carlos Alcaraz clinched his maiden Slam at the 2022 US Open and simultaneously became the youngest No. 1 in ATP history

While Carlos Alcaraz has had his share of tough matches, such as his latest one against Nicolas Jarry in the Rio Open semifinals, the young Spaniard is quickly learning to turn adversity around in his favor

The 19-year-old has plenty of accolades in his young career, including being the youngest World No. 1 in ATP history.

Alcaraz’s exceptional growth has been a treat for tennis fans as well as former players alike. Recently, Brad Gilbert, who has coached the likes of former World No. 1s and Grand Slam champions Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, made a confident statement about Alcaraz’s chances of winning multiple Grand Slams.

"If you told me five years from now that he’d won six or seven Slams, I wouldn’t be surprised at all," Gilbert said. "Obviously a big factor, too, is luck—injuries. He plays so physical. But if you told me in five years that he had only one Slam, I would be absolutely shocked."