"I think we're looking at a future World Number. 1" - Prakash Amritraj on Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-2 in the finals of the 2022 Rio Open on Sunday to lift his second career title. In the process, he became the youngest winner of an ATP 500 tournament since the category came into existence in 2009.

It was in the same tournament two years back that the Spaniard registered his first match win on the main tour - as a mere 16-year-old. While his peers have always been aware of his promise, it is his progress over the last 12 months that has taken the tennis world by storm. In a recent segment on the Tennis Channel, Prakash Amritraj and Jennifer Brady discussed the potential of the talented teenager.

Amritraj first addressed the state of excitement that Alcaraz is in right now. He mentioned that everything is new for the Spaniard at this point, which is expected to to drive his motivation. As a result, he only expects Alcaraz to keep moving up the rankings and perhaps even break into the top 10 by the end of the season.

"For him, it is all new right now. When you're in that honeymoon stage, as we talked about, it's a beautiful thing. Everything's new, you're excited, it's all gravy at this point." Amritraj said. "So I think he is just going to continue moving up; he is already 20 in the rankings. I am expecting Top 10 from him this year."

The former Indian tennis player remarked that Alcaraz is capable on every surface. He explained that the Spaniard's relative weakness on grass should not deter him too much since there are very few tournaments played on it. He believes Alcaraz is a future World Number. 1.

"I think he is very capable on all surfaces, perhaps not as much on grass, but we don't have that many tournaments on grass," Amritraj continued. "I said it earlier this week, I think we're looking at a future World Number 1 coming up."

"Maybe Alcaraz is the next teenage Grand Slam champion" - Jennifer Brady

On his 18th birthday, Carlos Alcaraz took on Rafael Nadal in the 2021 Madrid Open

The men's game hasn't witnessed a teenage Grand Slam champion since Rafael Nadal won his first Roland Garros title in 2005 at the age of 19 . Hailing from the same nation as the 21-time Major champion, Alcaraz's early success is very reminiscent of the former. 2021 Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady feels the 18-year-old has the potential to be the next teenage champion.

Brady explained that Alcaraz's rise in the rankings will help him in being seeded for the Grand Slams, which in turn should give him a better chance of making the second week.

"He's gonna be Top 20. That means he will be seeded at a grand slam. So now we're going to see him move into the second week of grand slams more occassionally, more frequently," she said. "Maybe he's the next teenage Grand Slam champion. He could be the next one."

Amritraj further pointed out the Spaniard's build. He referenced past teenage champions like Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal who were physically extremely well developed at a very young age.

"When you look at those teenage champions that you've seen in the past, you wanna go all the way back to Boris Becker in 1985 at Wimbledon. You look at Rafa when he came on at the French. One big common factor is the development, the physique," he said.

The Indian feels that Alcaraz also possesses that trait, unlike many others who develop later on. Hence, he believes it's only the mental part that needs maturing for the teenager.

"A lot of players develop a lot later; you see Alcaraz at this age, the guy is built like a man. He has already got that element of it. Now it's just developing the mental part. He's got it all." he said.