Carlos Alcaraz ‘will go down as the greatest player of all time’ declares former coach of Serena Williams
Carlos Alcaraz will surpass all before him to become the GOAT according to coaching legend Rick Macci.
The 19-year-old Spaniard has rocketed up the rankings in 2022 and already has two Masters 1000 titles and two Slam quarter-finals to his name.
Alcaraz’s talent has convinced Macci, who coached both Serena and Venus Williams early in their careers, that the teenager will have a truly astounding career.
“He’s a generational player,” Macci told Tennis-Infinity.com. “People will have to understand that. In my opinion, he’s Agassi, Djokovic, Federer, Nadal all wrapped in one.
“I know this sounds crazy, but barring injury, he’s going to go down as the greatest player of all time.”
Macci agrees that to say this before Alcaraz has even won a Major is ‘crazy’.
However, the American draws from experiences seeing double-digit Slam champions early in their career as a source of confidence.
“I saw this in Sampras, I saw it in Federer, I saw it in Nadal,” Macci explained. “[Alcaraz] just has the most complete game. He was born to do this.”
After going out of Wimbledon in the fourth round, Alcaraz returns to the tour this week at the Hamburg Open.
Despite Hamburg being the first time Alcaraz has been the top seed at an ATP tour level event, he is relishing the occasion.
“I’m really excited to play here for the first time,” Alcaraz told TennisTV. “I’m comfortable being the top seed and one of the favourite players to win the tournament. So I don’t [feel] that pressure and I’m motivated [by] it.”
He takes on German wildcard Nicola Kuhn in the first round, with more tournament information available in our Hamburg Open 2022 Tournament Preview.
? Free >> Join our legendary newsletter
? Join >> Receive $700/£600 of tennis gear from the Tennishead CLUB
? Social >> Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube
? Read >> World’s best tennis magazine
? Watch >> How to enjoy ATP/WTA/Slam tennis on TV
? Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted partner