Former world No. 2 Alex Corretja believes Carlos Alcaraz is capable of achieving big things and is destined to be ‘one of the special ones’ on the ATP Tour.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz is already off to a flying start, having won the 2022 US Open and this year’s edition of Wimbledon.
However, a dip in form towards the end of the 2023 season saw the 20-year-old lose to Novak Djokovic in the Cincinnati Masters final, get knocked out of the US Open semi-finals by Daniil Medvedev, and lose to Djokovic once again at the ATP Finals in Turin.
But Corretja thinks his fellow Spaniard will hit the ground running at the start of the 2024 season and has even tipped him to win ‘all the titles practically possible’ during what he thinks will be an illustrious career.
‘’To me, winning a Grand Slam would make it a very good season,” Corretja told Eurosport.
“I think that this year, for example, Roland Garros is going to be a very big goal for him. After what happened last year (cramps against Djokovic), I think he will manage it differently.
‘’I think he is going to be a player who is going to win all the titles practically possible and it is because of the way he plays, his ambition, and his character.
“I think his tennis is very high. So it seems to me that Alcaraz is destined to be one of the special ones.’’
With the Australian Open just weeks away, Corretja backed Alcaraz for success on account of the conditions being ‘perfect’ for his game.
‘’I think the Australian Open is a perfect fit for Alcaraz because of the conditions, because of the way the ball bounces, because it can be hot, because of night sessions where there is a kind of atmosphere that’s dramatic,” he said.
“Everything becomes spectacular and he likes that. It’s a little bit like the night session in New York.
‘’I think if he arrives well and with some preparation matches it’s going to be perfect.
“He can play a very good Australian Open and he will be eager as an opportunity to seize knowing he didn’t play last year, the last time he played there, he ended up losing a very close match.’’
Leave a Reply