Carlos Alcaraz brings something tennis has ‘never had before’ – Mats Wilander on Spaniard's explosion in tennis

Carlos Alcaraz’s positive on-court demeanour is something tennis has “never had before”, says Eurosport expert Mats Wilander, who thinks opponents enjoy facing the Spaniard whether they win or lose. The 20-year-old is the top seed at Wimbledon this year and has reached the semi-finals, where he faces Daniil Medvedev on Friday.

Ad He got there with an impressive straight-sets victory over Holger Rune in a performance that earned him high praise from former footballer Gary Lineker. WimbledonExclusive: Medvedev says he's playing his best grass-court tennis ahead of Alcaraz clash2 HOURS AGO The Match of the Day presenter tweeted: “What a talent Carlos Alcaraz is.

He looks and moves like a footballer, with the power and pace of a [Cristiano] Ronaldo, mixed with the deftness of touch and feel of a [Lionel] Messi, but with a racquet.” Wilander responded to Lineker’s comments on Eurosport’s Wimbledon coverage but pointed out one important attribute that the former England striker missed. “I agree with the analysis, but he left out the most important part, because maybe there isn’t a footballer that does it – the smile that he brings to the Centre Court,” Wilander said.

Exclusive: Alcaraz hopes Medvedev will feel nerves playing on Centre Court in semi-final Alcaraz beats Rune to reach first Wimbledon semi, Medvedev through with Eubanks win “When there’s pressure, he’s still out there having a great time and you can see he’s having a great time because he’s smiling… “That is so new. Not even the great Roger Federer did that.

Rafa [Nadal] certainly not, Novak [Djokovic] once in a while, but not in the same way. “Obviously I’m very high on Carlos Alcaraz as a tennis player, but as a human he’s bringing a new thing to tennis that