Carlos Alcaraz needs a ‘miracle’ to surpass Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – Alex Corretja

Alex Corretja believes Carlos Alcaraz will not surpass the achievements of men’s tennis’ big three: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

All eyes have been on the 19-year-old Spaniard as he confirmed his brilliance last year when securing the No. 1 world ranking as a teenager, but he was forced to withdraw from the first Grand Slam of the season – the Australian Open – when he suffered a leg injury.

That means that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the big beasts at the tournament, but Corretja picked out Felix Auger-Aliassime, Frances Tiafoe, Nick Kyrgios and Holger Rune as surprise packages.

“Australia is always tricky because it’s the beginning of the year. But you know, guys like Auger-Aliassime have been playing very well,” Corretja told Eurosport. “Some others too, you never know, Kyrgios is going to be in Australia with the crowd factor. He already played well and won lots at Wimbledon. Tiafoe played such a great US Open too.

“I also think Rune will be one of the top guys this year, he is improving and working like an animal. I want to see how far he will go this year.

“I also want to see how [Alexander] Zverev recovers from his injury and will come stronger than before. He will be tough because he went down, and when you suffer so much and recover, you appreciate many more things. He is someone I have a feeling that something good is going to happen to him this year.

Turning to Tour veteran Nadal, two-time French Open finalist Corretja said: “With Rafa, you can always expect the best because he’s been surprising us for so long. I think the end of the [last] season, it wasn’t as good as he expected, of course. But he needed to play some matches, he played some exhibitions. And now he started the season playing the United Cup and even if he didn’t win those matches, I think it was good for him to play long matches.

“Because when you don’t play too many matches before, it is nice to get the rhythm, I’m sure as the tournament will go on, he might feel better.

“It will also depends on the draw to see how he plays, if he plays day sessions or night sessions, it makes a lot of difference at the Australian Open. But I think with Rafa, you always have to count on him because he proved already that when we think that he is not ready he is. He needs to make a big effort to get the best shape he can but I don’t have any doubt that he will be ready.”

For now, Corretja is unconcerned by injuries to Alcaraz at such a young age.

He predicted: “No, it’s just temporary. I mean it’s a pity because he was working very hard to play well in Australia. I think the major effort that he made to win the US Open and become number one, all this other stuff, I mean, it’s normal that it takes a lot of energy out of you, and it takes a little while to understand also what’s going on to be number one and the expectations that come with it.

“But he is going to be soon ready again. He will be in a good position to play well, either in Miami or then during the clay court season, where he will be one of the toughest guys to beat.

“I don’t think he needs to be obsessed with number one, I don’t think it should be his goal right now to just defend that ranking because otherwise it’s an extra, not just pressure, but it’s an extra weight on your shoulders that you don’t need to do, especially when you’re at that age.

“I think he is still learning and the explosion he had last year was huge. It was difficult to deal with all the new situations for him after winning the US Open. This step back from the Australian Open is a shame as I think it can suit him very well. He should be fresh for the clay court season though and keep on improving.

Corretja also doubts that any player including Alcaraz can achieve more than the Big Three, explaining, “That would be a miracle. I don’t think anyone will ever pass Djokovic, Federer or Nadal.

“That’s my opinion. I think he’s going to have an unbelievable career, but I don’t think he will go over Roger, Rafa or Novak because I see it as mission impossible.”

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