Roger Federer is the Lionel Messi of tennis, words and music by Carlos Alcaraz. In a long interview given to the Argentine sports newspaper ‘Ole’, the world number 2 drew a parallel between the Swiss – who retired from playing tennis in September last year – and the Argentine footballer, who led his national team to victory during the recent World Cup in Qatar.
“Roger Federer is undoubtedly the Messi of tennis. Both enter people’s hearts, because they have the ability to make everything seem incredibly simple. Leo was a superhero during the World Cup in Qatar, he practically put Argentina on his shoulders and guided them to final success.
As for Roger, I loved his tennis and it was always a pleasure to watch him play. I used to watch match footage of him all the time when I was younger” – said ‘Carlitos’, whose 2023 will start on the red clay in Buenos Aires.
In fact, the 19-year-old Spaniard had to miss the 2023 Australian Open due to a leg injury sustained in training shortly before flying to Melbourne.
Federer is the Lionel Messi of the tennis world
20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer finally hung up his racquet last year with a final hurrah at the Laver Cup.
Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t played in an official tournament since the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy 2022, when he was forced to retire due to an abdominal tear. Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protégé left everyone speechless last year, winning the US Open and putting two Masters 1000 (Miami and Madrid) on the bulletin board.
As if that weren’t enough, the Iberian became the youngest number 1 in the history of men’s tennis after the US Open. The primacy was taken from him by Novak Djokovic, who won his tenth Australian Open a few weeks ago. The Spaniard is set to make his comeback at the Argentina Open, where he is the top seed.
After receiving a bye in the first round, he will take on either Fabio Fognini or Laslo Djere in the second round. In the latest edition of the podcast hosted by Craig Shapiro, Ivan Lendl spent beautiful words for Alcaraz. “Carlos Alcaraz is already very strong and will improve further in the coming years” – declared Lendl.
“I know he trains very hard and that he has a great team behind him. Juan Carlos Ferrero was a very good player and he is also doing well as a coach. He is teaching him everything he needs to stay on top ”- added Ivan.
