In the run up to Wimbledon 2023, Carlos Alcaraz was called a mixture of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic by his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.
It was as big a compliment as it gets considering the trio of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic has basically dominated the men’s singles event at Grand Slam tournaments for over two decades now.
The comparison wasn’t far from truth though even as Federer advised against putting a 20-year-old under so much pressure.
Djokovic though has no qualms in agreeing with Ferrero’s assessment after Alcaraz ended the Serb’s four-year unbeaten rein at Wimbledon on Sunday to become the men’s singles champion.
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about [Alcaraz’s] game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself. I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically best of all three worlds,” Djokovic said after losing in epic five-set thriller.
“He’s got this mental resilience and really maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It’s quite impressive. He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defence that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years. And I think he’s got some nice sliding backhands that he’s got some similarities with my backhands. The two-handed backhands, defence, being able to adapt. I think that has been my personal strength for many years. He has it, too,” he added.
A confident Alcaraz has called himself ‘a complete player’ in the past and Djokovic agrees.
“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger and Rafa have their own obvious strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces,” Djokovic said.
In the French Open 2023 semis, Djokovic had beaten Alcaraz before lifting the title and he’s relishing the prospect of his rivalry with the youngster.
“He’s going to be on the Tour for quite some time. I don’t know how long I’ll be around. It’s been only three matches that we played against each other. Three really close matches. Two already this year in later stages of Grand Slams,” Djokovic said.
This was Alcaraz’s second major title having won the US Open last year.
“I hope we get to play in US Open. Why not? I think it’s good for the sport, 1 and 2 in the world facing each other in almost a five-hours, five-set thriller. Couldn’t be better for our sport in general,” Djokovic said.
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