Let Alcaraz be his own person: Roddick

Former world No.1 Andy Roddick says Miami Open champion Carlos Alcaraz should not be compared to fellow Spaniard and tennis icon Rafa Nadal.

Alcaraz won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami on Sunday after beating Casper Ruud in the final.

And the 18-year-old is also the first Spaniard to win that crown, as Nadal has not won the title.

“I can’t mention anything about Alcaraz on Twitter without someone automatically saying, ‘Well, Rafa did this’ and ‘You know, Rafa did that’,” Roddick said.

“We have to let this guy be his own person. And he seems comfortable in his own skin. He seems comfortable with the way he plays. I just don’t think it’s going to faze him.”

Roddick did concede that sometimes people have used the “apples to apples” comparison of the two players.

“Yes, his name is Rafa. His name was Roger. His name was Andre Agassi at a certain time. The company he is keeping with these comparisons elicit that sort of name to make an apples-to-apples comparison.”