John McEnroe described Carlos Alcaraz as “one of the most refreshing athletes” he has seen in the last 10-15 years, but also warned the Spaniard that he now has a target on his back Alcaraz, 19, introduced himself to the world of tennis in impressive form, winning a Grand Slam and becoming the youngest number 1 in tennis history.
“Now, a victory over Alcaraz is much more important than it was a year ago, for anyone, so the key is to try to embrace the idea, I think to be able to enjoy it, but at the same time find a way to understand what is going It’s going to be hard to stay there, because it’s one thing to get there, but I think it’s much more difficult to keep it there,” McEnroe told Eurosport’s Arnold Montgault.
Twelve months ago, Alcaraz was considered one of the most talented and promising players on the Tour. Now, Alcaraz is considered a tennis superstar and his rivals will definitely not think of him as just a talented up-and-coming teenager.
“It’s going to be very interesting to see how he handles it. It worries me a bit because it’s a lot to put it on a guy’s shoulders at 19. I was number 1 briefly at 21 and then I lost the ranking again, another one happened. a year, a year and a half before I definitely got it back for a while.
So it’ll be interesting to see what happens with him, whether he’s able to hold his own or there’s talk of a ‘sophomore slump’ a bit, and it’s hard to imagine something like that not happening to some degree,” McEnroe added.
During the same conversation, McEnroe said that working with Juan Carlos Ferrero is something very positive for Alcaraz. Meanwhile, Alcaraz will miss the Australian Open due to a leg injury.
Corretja talks about Alcaraz
While Carlos Alcaraz is having a hard time with his withdrawal from the Australian Open due to a muscle injury, Alex Corretja spoke to Eurosport about the possibility that the youngest world number 1 in history will one day exceed in terms of of records and statistics the giants: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The former double finalist of Roland-Garros does not believe it. “It would be a miracle. I don’t think anyone can ever top Djokovic, Federer or Nadal. It’s my opinion. I think he’s going to have an amazing career, but I don’t think he’ll overtake Roger, Rafa or Novak because I consider it mission impossible.”
