Jon Rahm praises fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz during US Open: 'He's a demigod'
As Carlos Alcaraz goes for his fifth Grand Slam title at the age of 21, fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm had nothing but high praise for the new star of tennis.
Jon Rahm and Carlos Alcaraz have their home country of Spain on their backs.
Rahm has two majors to his name, while Alcaraz has won four Grand Slams. Alcaraz is going for his fifth during the U.S. Open.
At age 21, Alcaraz has already surpassed "young prodigy" territory.
"How do I put this? He’s not a god — he’s a demigod," Rahm told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
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Rahm praised his fellow Spaniard, who is next in line to become the next big thing in tennis.
"He’s surely on that path. I don’t think anybody expected this. As [Rafael] Nadal is coming to an end of his career, to all of a sudden, overnight, Carlos shows up and becomes the greatest next star. It’s so interesting. All of a sudden, you go from Nadal with 22 Grand Slams and has accomplished all these great things, boom. Two years later, this guy has four. It’s absolutely insane.
"Can’t say enough good things about him. You got a guy that carries himself well, very charismatic. He's absolute fire on the court and somebody that definitely provides a lot of entertainment. It’s quite special."
Rahm got to see Alcaraz in person this week at the tournament, as Rahm and his LIV team, Legion XIII, partnered with Maestro Dobel Tequila, the official tequila of the U.S. Open. For the golfer, it's the perfect fit.
"Since I’ve come to the U.S., I learned a lot about tequila, and I’ve always really enjoyed it. I’m not the biggest drinker in the world, so when I do it, I like to enjoy it. I’m not a quantity over quality type of guy," Rahm laughed. "So, during the journey, I came across Maestro Dobel, and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed.
"They were partners with the PGA Tour, so when the opportunity came by, I said I’d love to be a part of it. … To be on the forefront of it, and see how it all came about — it was basically an accident, and it reminded me how my family started playing golf out of pure coincidence. It felt like a partnership that would be a really good fit."
Considering Rahm plays an individual sport, he's able to relate to tennis. But he says he always makes sure to get as close a look as he can to athletes whenever he attends a sporting event.
"When you’re lucky enough to get to an elite level, you can relate to the process of anybody else competing or doing the craft. So, whenever I go to sporting events, as much as I’m having, if I get to chance to watch someone like [Novak] Djokovic, I’m going to take the time to learn. On TV, you don’t see everything. In person, you see everything. So, you try to do exactly that and learn little things, and it’s fun to see.
"What do they do when they hit a great shot, win a game, win a set? Because we all face adversity. I feel like if there’s a sport where you’re going to miss more shots than golf, it’s tennis. Luckily, or unluckily, however you want to look at it, I play a sport where you fail more than you succeed.
"In tennis, Roger Federer said it best. He only won 54% of the points he ever played, and those points are his points. Sometimes he got lucky. It’s great to see how they overcome those moments and how they carry themselves throughout the match."
Rahm will be fighting for a LIV team championship next month just outside Dallas at Maridoe Country Club.
