Jim Courier has explained what trait Carlos Alcaraz has taken from each member of the coveted Big Three.
When this legendary trio began to slowly make their exit from the apex of the sport, many feared for the future of men’s tennis.
After all, how could anyone ever live up to the level set by these three across the last two decades?
It therefore almost seems ironic that, even before all of them have retired, we have been blessed with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as readymade replacements.
For the Spaniard, given his youth and current trajectory, comparisons with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in particular are natural.
However, Courier has now explained why he is not similar to just one of them, but a distinctive mix of all three of them.
Jim Courier compares Carlos Alcaraz to the Big Three
Speaking on Tennis Channel straight after Alcaraz won his sixth Grand Slam title last night, he used Djokovic’s words when forming his comparison.
The American claimed: “No, I mean, I think Novak put it best. I think he’s really a combination of all of them.
“I think he’s got the offensive mindset, certainly that Roger had. I think he’s looking for offence at all times. He can D up in the corners like Novak, and then he’s obviously so tough in the big moments mentally as Rafa.
“So there’s a lot to like here, but he’s his own man, and that’s kind of what makes him special.
“Yes, he’s Spanish, but he does not play a typical Spanish, conservative percentage-wise, he plays the daredevil, risky tennis, and it’s definitely different and definitely amazing.”
Juan Carlos Ferrero has since said whether he thinks tennis needs a new player to challenge Alcaraz and Sinner, also speaking after the US Open final.
Carlos Alcaraz wants to reach the level of the Big Three
Given what he has already accomplished at just 22 years old, Alcaraz is well on track to match, and potentially even surpass what all of the Big Three managed.
And, what’s even scarier is how determined he seems to achieve those lofty, near-impossible goals.
Speaking last year ahead of his Wimbledon title defence, which he successfully achieved, he admitted: “I want to be one of the best in history. I am dreaming that big.
“I want to sit [at] the same table as the ‘Big Three’ [Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer], legends of our sports.”
With Sinner the only real threat to his monopoly over men’s tennis, it’d be foolish to bet against him managing this extraordinary feat.
