Tommy Haas says Carlos Alcaraz is already primed to succeed Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the very top of tennis.
Alcaraz became the youngest men's world number one when he won his maiden grand slam title at the US Open last year.
The Spaniard missed this year's Australian Open due to an injury, allowing Djokovic to reclaim his place at the summit of the rankings with his 10th triumph in Melbourne.
Djokovic celebrated a record-breaking 378th week at number one on Monday, the day after Alcaraz had fallen short against Cameron Norrie in the Rio Open final.
Alcaraz, who has already won seven singles titles, battled through pain in Brazil but ultimately slipped to a 5-7 6-4 7-5 defeat against the opponent he beat in the Argentina Open final a week earlier.
With the 19-year-old having already reached 10 tour-level finals, though, former world number two Haas has no doubt Alcaraz is in line to enjoy success close to that of Djokovic and Nadal.
"Yes, you have to say that he already is [ready]," Haas told Stats Perform.
"He had an unbelievable year last year, right. I think he won a title down there in Rio, on clay then he came to Indian Wells playing extremely good tennis, losing a tough battle match against Rafa in the quarters.
"They played some incredible tennis and you could just tell the way he moves on the court, his mental toughness and the shot selection that he has, the repertoire there is, there's nothing really missing.
"Being that young sometimes can be like the only hindrance in my mind because maybe you want it too much, or you overthink things. Or maybe in this case, you clearly don't overthink things, and you just go out and play your best and fight and give it everything you have.
"A lot of respect obviously goes to his team, his family, his coach. He just kind of went on that run, winning [in] Madrid, in his home country. And then winning his first slam, the US Open and being the youngest world number one, so what a quick rise. Just unreal, I can't even imagine how his life has been turned upside down in many ways."
The only concern, as far as Haas sees it, is Alcaraz's injury worries.
"He's a guy that wants to stick around, and remain up there at the top for a very, very long time," Haas added.
"With his game, and his potential, if he stays healthy... that's the thing, he's been already a little bit injured at a young age. So, that's a little bit of a warning sign.
"If he can remain healthy, I think that's where the team is obviously very smart. I think they're trying to build up his body still, to sustain the crazy amount of travel and the stress on the body that tennis creates on you to make sure that he has a long career, because that's what everybody hopes and dreams for."
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
Paolini and Bronzetti seal fifth Billie Jean King Cup for Italy
Victories for Jasmine Paolini and Lucia Bronzetti handed Italy their fifth Billie Jean King Cup title as they overcame Slovakia in Wednesday's final in Malaga.
Italy, who were beaten in last year's final by Canada, overcame Poland in the semi-finals on Monday as Paolini partnered Sara Errani for a decisive doubles win over world number two Iga Swiatek and Katarzyna Kawa.
The showpiece contest began with Bronzetti triumphing 6-2 6-4 against Viktoria Hruncakova, before Paolini took to the court to face Rebecca Sramkova.
The world number four – who won doubles gold at the Paris Olympics in August to cap her breakout year – eased past Sramkova by a 6-2 6-1 scoreline to ensure a doubles match was not required.
Speaking after Italy claimed the trophy for the first time since 2011, Bronzetti heaped praise upon her team-mate and revealed she had struggled to sleep before playing in front of 12-time grand slam champion King.
"Jasmine raised her level really high this year. She's an example for all of us," Bronzetti said.
Asked about King's presence in the crowd, Bronzetti added: "She is a great person, a great legend. I didn't sleep very well.
"You're not playing just for yourself. You're playing for your team and your country. We all want this trophy, and it is our dream, all Italians."
Data Debrief: Five-star Italy
Italy have claimed their fifth Billie Jean King Cup, having previously triumphed in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2013.
Only the United States (18), Czechoslovakia/Czechia (11) and Australia (seven) have won more. Spain and Russia (also including the USSR and Russian Tennis Federation) have also tasted success five times.
Germany set up Netherlands semi-final showdown at Davis Cup
Germany booked their place in the Davis Cup semi-finals after wrapping up a 2-0 victory over Canada in Malaga.
Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff were both victorious over Gabriel Diallo and Denis Shapovalov respectively, to set up a last-four clash with the Netherlands.
Germany were beaten 2-1 by Canada when the nations met at this stage of the 2022 Davis Cup, but they drew first blood when Altmaier came through a hard-fought clash with Diallo 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
It looked like the tie would go to a doubles decider when former Wimbledon semi-finalist Shapovalov took the opening set against Struff.
But the world number 43 bounced back to prevail 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5) after two hours and seven minutes.
"Denis was playing amazingly, coming out firing," Struff said. "It was a very tough match. He was serving so well. It was tough to return. The court is very fast. An incredible match. I'm just happy to get over the line at the end."
On Friday's semi-final with the Dutch, he added: "It's a big step for us to go from the quarters to the semis. For sure, we want to win and go to the final now.
"Netherlands played an amazing match yesterday, beating Spain here in front of a home crowd. We expect a very tough opponent."
Data Debrief: Germany through as errors cost Canada
The two tie-breaks proved pivotal as the Germans secured only their second Davis Cup semi-final appearance since 2008 (also reaching that stage in 2021).
Though both sets were tight during the first match, Diallo hit 40 unforced errors to Altmaier's 17, and was 6-1 for double faults.
Similarly, in the second rubber, though Shapovalov was 27-8 for aces, 13 double faults to just four from Struff proved costly.
Altmaier and Struff's reward is a first meeting with the Netherlands since the 2001 quarter-finals, which the Dutch won 4-1.
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