Young Carlos Alcaraz is the talk of the town after his mind blowing performance at the Wimbledon finals. The 20-year-old Spaniard had the reigning supreme Novak Djokovic stumbling and struggling to win a point. With an exemplary physical and mental prowess and style of play, Carlitos took home his second Grand Slam.
While Carlitos has been receiving laud and applause, the eight time Grand Slam title winner, Jimmy Connors gives the youngster advice. As the 20-year-old Alcaraz makes his way up in the big leagues, the 70-year-old tennis icon Connors shares some wisdom for him.
Jimmy Connors’ shares his counsel for Carlos Alcaraz
During his era, Jimmy Connors was referred to as the ‘Brash Basher of Belleville‘ as he was very quick to gain a reputation as the brat of the tennis world. Now, at 70 years old, he expresses his wit and advices the young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz about getting ‘too full of himself’.
On the Advantage Connors Podcast, he predicts, “If Carlos Alcaraz plays until he is 33. So, he has got 13 years. Let’s just say he plays for 12 more years, that is 48 more slams. And if he doesn’t get too full of himself, I would say 15. That is if he doesn’t think he doesn’t have to go out and work hard and it’s gonna come easy.”
He also adds, “He needs to continue what he’s doing now and looks like he will. He has that passion, that smile, that excitement, and that feel for what he’s doing.”
Carlos Alcaraz is the 5th youngest player to win a title on all three surfaces:
Bjorn Borg (17) 🇸🇪
Mats Wilander (19) 🇸🇪
Layton Hewitt (19) 🇦🇺
Jimmy Connors (19) 🇺🇸This is quite a legendary list to join. 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/0BNKOvq8yD
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 25, 2023
Including Jimmy himself, Alcaraz is the fifth youngest player to win a title on all three surfaces. So, Jimmy reminds this youngster that the entire next generation is going to be looking up to him:
“I say that because there’s going to be some new kids coming up now, you know those who see him, the 16, 17, and 18 who see him and say, ‘If he can do it, I can do it too! If he’s working like this, I’m working like that!’ But they are all going to find their own way. I think he has got to start setting the precedent now for the youth,” the eight time Grand Slam champion says.
These words from an icon such as Connors reminds fans that the Big Three era is slowly coming to an end and the next generation is gearing up to dominate.
Carlos Alcaraz crashes out of Hopman Cup
Even though the world number one has been dominating the singles field, the Hopman Cup plays mixed-doubles and was a relatively new space for Alcaraz. Teaming up with Rebeka Masarova, the Spain team played till the semifinals but crashed out against Croatia’s Borna Coric and Donna Vekic who went on to win the Hopman Cup 2023.
Losing this tournament after taking the grandest Wimbledon title definitely did not feel great for the world number 1 and expresses his disappointment. However, given this 20-year-old’s passion and determination, this loss will not bring him down.
What are your thoughts on Jimmy’s predictions? Let us know your predictions of the number of Grand Slams Carlitos will win in his career in the comments below!
