Severin Luthi, the former coach of Roger Federer, has warned against making huge predictions about the future of Carlos Alcaraz's career.
The Swiss coach worked with tennis legend Federer from 2007 until the end of his professional career in 2022, helping him achieve many of his 20 Grand Slam titles.
However, Luthi's experience working with the long-time star has made him cautious of making grand predictions about the new big names on the ATP Tour today, especially when it comes to world No. 1 Alcaraz.
Alcaraz has certainly made a big impression in the sport thus far in his young career. The 20-year-old already has two major titles to his name, winning the 2022 US Open final against Jannik Sinner before defeating seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic at this year's SW19.
In a recent interview with Blick, Luthi discussed the Spaniard, praising his great ability but also stressing that fans should not get ahead of themselves:
"He definitely has what it takes to win many Grand Slam tournaments. And yet we don't know what will happen in two years' time. What if he hurts himself?
"What if there's another one coming out in a few years that we all say is even more incredible? And: How someone will react to the great success is something we can't estimate that early on. In sport we always live in the moment. I've learned that in my career," he said.
In order to reinforce his point, the 47-year-old admitted that his predictions about the sport have often ended up being incorrect, such as when he thought no player could overtake Pete Sampras' former record of 14 Grand Slam titles:
"Aside from that, I guess I've been wrong about most of the predictions I've made in my life. I still remember: When Pete Sampras had won 14 Grand Slam titles, I said: No one will ever achieve that again! Now we already have three players who have 20 or more Grand Slam wins. And it's not like 250 years have passed since I made my statement," he added.
Severin Luthi, Roger Federer’s old coach, didn’t think anyone would win more Slams than Sampras: “When Sampras won 14, I said no one will achieve it again. Now we already have 3 players who have 20 or more GS. & it's not like 250 years have passed since I made my statement” 😂
