Bellucci, about Alcaraz: "I played against him when he was 16 years old and his level surprised me"

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Carlos Alcaraz's tennis doesn't leave anyone indifferent, neither now nor when he was a young teenager trying to make his way into the elite. This is evidenced by the story of Mattia Bellucci, the upcoming rival of the Murcian in the US Open 2025, who recalls what he felt when facing the current world number 2 five years ago.

Each athlete has their own maturation process, but Carlos Alcaraz's is very unusual. The early success that the Spanish player is having defies all logic, as evidenced by the opinions of those who faced him when he was just a child. It was January 2020 when Mattia Bellucci met the player who would be his opponent in the second round of the US Open 2025, and his story on atptour.com reminiscing about that day is priceless.

"A friend wrote to me saying that the boy I was going to play against would be very, very good in the future. I was 18 and he was 16; I didn't know him at all because he had barely played in junior categories, so I didn't know what to expect. When I played the first three games of the match, I thought that winning would be difficult, but I could compete well. In the end, he beat me 6-2 6-1. I didn't expect something like that; I was surprised by his level and how aggressively he played. I felt I played well, but he was superior, and I even enjoyed watching Carlos play," explained the Italian.

- Bellucci is 65th in the world at 24 years old and has a very complete baseline game.

More than five and a half years have passed, and they will face each other at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Italian player is currently 65th in the world and has high hopes of continuing to improve. "These are the matches every tennis player wishes to play. Competing in this place is a dream for me. I remember the first time I came here, entered the Stadium, and started crying with emotion. I told my coach that someday we would compete here, and we have achieved it," said the 24-year-old left-handed player who recently won the Sumter Challenger and reached the semifinals in Rotterdam this year.

"It hasn't been easy dealing with all the emotions and tennis ups and downs in my first year as a top-100 player, but I feel I will continue to improve thanks to my surroundings. I've learned to communicate more with them and tell them what I need at all times so they can help me. I'm very impatient, but I'm understanding that I need to give myself time for the good work I'm doing to translate into significant results," affirmed Mattia Bellucci, who will try to make history at the US Open 2025 against Carlos Alcaraz.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Bellucci, sobre Alcaraz: "Jugué contra él cuando tenía 16 años y me sorprendió su nivel"