Exclusive: Alex Corretja tips Carlos Alcaraz for greatness and says Australian Open a ‘perfect fit’ for his game

Alex Corretja believes Carlos Alcaraz is “destined to be one of the special ones” in tennis and etch his name into the history books alongside the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

At age 20, Alcaraz is already a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2022 US Open and defeated Djokovic in an epic five-set final at Wimbledon earlier this year.

That would be the last trophy he would lift in 2023 as his form dipped at the back end of the season. He lost to Djokovic in a deciding set at the Cincinnati Masters and was knocked out of the US Open in the semi-finals by Daniil Medvedev.

He suffered another defeat to Djokovic at the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in Turin and lost his No. 1 ranking to the Serb.

But Corretja, a fellow Spaniard and two-time French Open finalist, has tipped Alcaraz to return to action in 2024 mentally refreshed and ready to add to his haul of titles in what he says is the start of a long and legendary 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. He will have less anxiety and he’ll be wanting to get to Paris to win, because he knows that it is a very long Grand Slam.

“I’ve said it a long time ago, I think Alcaraz is going to win all the Grand Slams on all surfaces, even the Masters. 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.”

Corretja also believes the return of Nadal will take the spotlight away from Alcaraz and help him rediscover his best form.

The narrative in the men’s game for the majority of 2023 was that Alcaraz and Djokovic were in a league of their own, which ramped up expectation and pressure on the 20-year-old.

But some of that attention will be diverted at the start of the new year with Nadal poised to make his long-awaited comeback after almost 12 months on the sidelines.

Corretja thinks that can only be a good thing for Alcaraz and backed his countryman to fare well at the Australian Open in January, describing the first Grand Slam of the year as a “perfect” match 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.”

One player who enjoyed a strong finish to the season was Italy’s Jannik Sinner.

The 22-year-old won the ATP Masters 1000 Canada event, beat Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev en route to the China Open title, and triumphed in Austria at the Vienna Open.

He then went on to enjoy an end-of season battle with Djokovic that culminated in Italy winning the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976.

Sinner defeated Djokovic during the round robin stage of the ATP World Tour Finals but lost in the final before exacting revenge in Malaga at tennis’ hottest team event.

He got the better of Djokovic in singles and doubles as Italy conquered Serbia in the semi-finals, and played a starring role in the showdown with Australia.

The next logical step in his career is to add a Grand Slam to his roll of honour. His run to the Wimbledon semi-finals is his best effort to date but Corretja is confident he is now ready to go all the way.

“I think Sinner is doing the right steps,” the Spaniard added. “He’s been improving his game very much.

“It was very important to add different things, like his serve is huge, his forehand, his backhand, but also he’s slicing from time to time. He’s coming more often to the net. He’s doing some drop shots. This is a variation that he needed in order to be ready to win majors.

“If you only play a huge level of tennis, you’re going to win maybe [against] 80% of the guys on tour, 85%. But there are some others that you won’t beat if you don’t have something different.

“You need something special to win majors. And I think Jannik, he’s been working on that and it’s paying off.

“He’s ready and I think he will be ready to win a major. [In] ‘24, why not? If not, ’25, but I think he’s going to be definitely 100% ready.”

Another youngster who has been tipped for greatness is Holger Rune.

The Dane turned pro at the age of 16 and announced himself on the big stage in a big way, beating Djokovic to land the 2022 Paris Masters and with it, his first Masters 1000 title.

He also has three ATP 250 tournament wins to his name and is a personality unafraid to speak his mind and talk up his ability.

But he failed to back that up in the second half of 2023 as he endured a difficult end to the season that was blighted by injuries and a loss of form.

That being said, the 20-year-old still qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals and Corretja says he has the potential to challenge the best players in the world.

“Holger is fearless,” continued Corretja. “He’s young and he’s just going with the flow. He feels like he can be in top of the world and he says it. It’s great.

“I like when they say those things. As long as you are not cocky, as long as you are not someone that doesn’t show respect for the opponents, as long as you understand that you can be very ambitious, but at the same time, it’s very good to be humble because you can have these high expectations, but you need to know how difficult they are.

“I think Holger, he came up in the tour and he felt like, ‘No, I can beat this guy. The best in history? I don’t care’.

“Well, it’s good, but then you need to know how to do it in order not to become someone who has expectations that are not where they should be. But I think Holger can aim high because he’s got the potential.”

In a bid to rediscover form after overcoming his injury woes, Rune hired Boris Becker as his new coach in October.

While it’s still early days, Corretja thinks the German’s influence will bring more consistency to the Dane’s devastating power game and help the fiery character better handle the big moments.

“He [Rune] thinks like someone big. When you have someone next to you that understands what that means and who can help you with that, I noticed that he has more self-belief,” Corretja said.

“He needs to know the important moments, how to manage different situations, how to control his emotions, how to not spend energy in things that are not worth it. And I think with Boris, he’s going to understand that.

“Boris can help him because he was a star then he was a great coach, and he’s been with players that were No. 1. So if he wants to become good, I think Boris is a perfect combination for him. Both of them are people that have huge expectations on their minds.

“I think we forget how young these guys are, and especially Holger. He’s got a very explosive character, also explosive game, and he needs to know how to deal with some other things, not just tennis-wise.

“But he’s learning, he’s growing. He has an unbelievable work ethic. He’s got talent. He plays well in every surface. There is no reason to think that he’s not going to have an unbelievable 2024 because for a period of time he did struggle a little bit with injuries in 2023, but still he ended up qualifying for the ATP Finals.

“He’s going to be ready for next season. But he will need to learn how to be consistent most of the time, not just for one-and-a-half or two hours, because that’s going to be the key to win big tournaments.”