The tennis
commentator Mark Petchey stated that
Carlos Alcaraz will not win 20 Grand Slams
in his career, emulating the Big-3, but he believes that he will probably reach
double digits. Up to this point, the 20-year-old Spaniard has secured two Grand
Slam titles, and for many, he is seen as the successor to
Novak Djokovic,
Rafael Nadal, and
Roger Federer.
Alcaraz's
significant success at such a young age draws comparisons with the all-time
Grand Slam winners, although the young star is still far from competing at the
level of the Big-3, a standard that Petchey considers a "ridiculous
benchmark."
As Petchey
commented on the Inside-In podcast on Tennis Channel, the criticisms against
Alcaraz following his exit in the semifinals of the Australian Open are
somewhat unjustified, and he expressed his opinion that the Spaniard will win
many more Grand Slams.
“I mean,
what was that, his 13th major or something (at the 2024 Australian Open), he’s
already won two of them, and everyone’s already coming crashing down and
saying, like, ‘he needs to do this’,” the former British No 1 said.
“We live in
an unnatural time, because we’ve had these three players that have won 20-plus
majors and they have made sporting immortality, like normal,” he added.
“So
everybody else that’s coming in their shadow is getting judged on this
ridiculous benchmark that they are never going to hit. Do I think Carlos is
ever gonna hit 20 Grand Slams? I don’t, but will he win double digits? I think
he will, pretty good career right?”
“I’ll
rather be in Carlos’s shoes with a couple of majors under his belt than someone
that hasn’t got it who is at the back end of their career, the epilogue of
their career going, ‘am I ever gonna do it? I like his situation
personally,” Petchey concluded.