Carlos Alcaraz would have dreamt of more silverware after the Wimbledon Championship triumph, but the 21-year-old has yet to lift a title since then. Alcaraz first lost to Novak Djokovic at the Cincinnati Open finals, and when many thought he was going to bounce back, the Spaniard fell to quick successive defeats against Jannik Sinner in the China Open and Grigor Dimitrov in the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Yet, tennis icon and 20 Grand Slam winner Roger Federer believes that Carlos Alcaraz is one of the best players, but tennis fans should not rush with the comparison between Alcaraz and The Big Three.
Federer tempers expectation about Alcaraz future dominance
Roger Federer spoke about Carlos Alcaraz during an interview with the ATP Podcast. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said that he has a picture of Alcaraz hanging in his room and urged people not to rush the youngster.
Roger Federer said in the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast, “Alcaraz is great. I mean, look, he’s still young & everything that he has achieved is fantastic. And not just on clay or just on hard. But also now winning Wimbledon against Novak in the final that is no joke. I mean he didn’t need to really prove that point but that’s another super asterisk in his CV. Mighty impressive.”
“Of course, with Rafa, Novak, myself, & Murray, we all expect now every generation to produce their best tennis every single week for some reason, but it’s hard to do that. And I think Carlos, he’s done as well as he possibly could have so far. And he’s going to lose some time to time, like here in Shanghai. But he’s doing fantastic. He’s got a great game & obviously an unbelievable future ahead of him.”
“I see a bit of the power on the forehand side, Rafa’s style a little bit. Maybe also more the technique from me. Obviously you see the dropshot, you see he’s using slice, he can play from the back like Rafa can. And then he’s got some defensive skills that rival Novak’s but Novak’s obviously at an elite level bc when you do it for so many years, you stand alone basically. Like Rafa on clay & all that maybe there’s a combination but it’s also not fair to say that because Carlos is Carlos, like Novak is Novak & Rafa is Rafa. I don’t like it when there is just too many comparisons. I like when they stand alone,” Federer added.
One year after Roger Federer retired, he is still making his presence felt in tennis tournaments. The Swiss was at the Laver Cup and also honored the invitation to commemorate his career at the Shanghai Masters 1000.
How many tournaments has Carlos Alcaraz won in 2023?
Carlos Alcaraz has won five ATP titles and a Wimbledon Championship this season. Alacraz first triumph came at the ATP Buenos Aires Copa Claro, defeating Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-5. The duo met again at the clay court of the Rio Open and Carlos Alcaraz prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 5-7.
Carlos Alcaraz secured his first hard court victory at the Indian Wells Masters, where he triumphed over Daniil Medvedev. His exceptional form in the Spanish Masters was evident, as he claimed the Barcelona Open title by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Madrid Open title by besting Jan-Lennard Struff. In a remarkable achievement, Alcaraz also outplayed Novak Djokovic to capture the Wimbledon Championship.
Since then, Carlos Alcaraz has lost in the last four tournaments he has featured, losing his place as world no. 1.
