Alcaraz told Slams won’t matter as teen tipped to surpass Big Three

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Carlos Alcaraz has been told that he could become the “single most important player” in men’s tennis history, surpassing the Big Three. The 19-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough 2022 season that culminated with him winning the US Open and ascending to No 1 in the world but has since been set back by two different injuries. Despite his recent physical woes, Mats Wilander believes Alcaraz will be bigger than Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer even if he doesn’t win as many Grand Slam titles.

Alcaraz fulfilled his potential as tennis’ next big thing last season when he won five titles, including the US Open. Following his triumph in Flushing Meadows, he became the first teenager to lift a Grand Slam trophy since Rafael Nadal 17 years prior and reached the top of the rankings, making him the youngest ATP No 1 in history.

Things haven’t gone to plan since as the Spaniard tore an ab muscle during the Paris Masters which forced him out of the ATP Finals and Davis Cup, and he recently announced that he had picked up a new leg injury during his pre-season training which forced him to pull out of the Australian Open. But one former pro isn’t concerned about the teenager’s recent injury woes, and has tipped him to become the “the single most important player we have ever had”, even telling Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“For me to see Alcaraz winning the US Open was the most probably most exciting tournament that I’ve seen in the 20+ years that I’ve worked in TV or in media as an analyst,” Mats Wilander told Eurosport. “I have said that I think if Alcaraz can keep winning – and I’ve even told Juan Carlos Ferrero this in private – he could turn out to be the single most important tennis player that we have ever had in our sport.”

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The seven-time Grand Slam champion knew his comments would likely prove controversial given the success of the Big Three, but Wilander explained his logic. He continued: “People are going to say, what do you mean? Isn’t Roger Federer…? Isn’t Rafael Nadal…? Yes, they are absolutely, incredibly important.

“But here you have a guy who is trying so hard, he is so fast, he is playing with so many different shots, and he’s serving and volleying at 15-30. He’s 19 years old! He’s hitting drop shots at 15-30, he’s 19 years old! Then he dives, and at the end of it, he’s smiling and he’s laughing.”

The former world No 1 said that the six-time title winner would likely serve as a better role model for children who would want to get into the sport if they watched him enjoying himself. “So if I’m a parent, I’m going to look at Alcaraz, and I’m going to say, ‘Whoa, whoa, that’s the No. 1 player in the world? And he’s having that much fun? You kids, you are all going to play this sport because that seems to be a life-changing situation,’” he continued.

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WIlander said Grand Slam titles didn’t matter when trying to get kids to play tennis, admitting that he wasn’t sure whether Alcaraz could win double digits or get close to Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, who have 22, 21 and 20 respectively. The 58-year-old added: “I’m not saying he’s going to win 10-15 Majors, but I really hope that he keeps winning because that’s exactly the role model that we need to spread the message of how fun tennis can be and how it is supposed to be played.

“It’s not taking anything away from the ‘Big Three’, obviously, because they took it to the next level. But in terms of the happiness… It’s amazing the atmosphere that he creates on the court with the people that are watching him, including all of us.”

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