Carlos Alcaraz is undoubtedly the future of tennis and also one of the better teenagers ever to have played the game. He has a Grand Slam and a couple of Masters 1000 titles to his credit at the very young age of 19. With the Big Two of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, on the verge of retirement, Alcaraz seems to have a great future ahead of him, the road ahead seems to be quite smooth for the precocious Spaniard.
However, with the increasing demands of professional sport, the chance of him losing his way or burning out early cannot be ruled out altogether. It is here that the role of his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero becomes critical. He has to make sure that Alcaraz’s early promise is transformed into something legendary. Still, as he begins his title defense at the Madrid Open after having defended his title at Barcelona successfully, things are looking quite bright for the Spaniard. He has definitely come a long way from being the shaky 17-year-old who was destroyed in straight sets on his birthday by Nadal in Madrid in 2021.
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A long way to go for Carlos Alcaraz:
The young Spaniard from El Palmar, Murcia is the world No. 2 at the moment. Quite understandably, people have started making comparisons with Djokovic, Nadal, and Roger Federer already. However, it will be better to put things into perspective here.
Each member of the so-called “Big Three” has won 20 or more Grand Slam titles. Both Djokovic and Nadal have won more than 35 Masters 1000 titles, with Federer not far behind with 28. Their overall achievements are so staggering that even other legends like Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, and John McEnroe pale in front of them.
Hence, it is not only premature to compare Alcaraz with the Big Three, it is unfair on the lad itself. It is not proper to judge a bright young prospect by the gargantuan yardstick with which we measure the Big Three.
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Alcaraz combines some of the best qualities of the Big Three:
However, there are obvious signs of greatness in Alcaraz’s game and some of his qualities are reminiscent of those of the Big Three. While Alcaraz has the tenacity and big-match temperament of Djokovic, he also possesses the never-say-die attitude of fellow Spaniard Nadal. His enviable record in five-setters (8-1 at Majors) is testimony to the above.
However, he is a lot closer to Federer game-wise than either Djokovic or Nadal. He is an all-court player like Federer and does not always try to grind his opponent out from the baseline. His drop shots and volleys _especially the former _ are already world-class and his defense is better than Federer’s was at his age.
The prospects are really good for the Spanish youngster, but one must not burden him with the unseemly comparisons just yet. It will be a great achievement for any player to win 10 Majors, but even that will be less than half the tally of either Djokovic or Nadal. Alcaraz should keep that in mind.
