After winning seven Grand Slam titles, Carlos Alcaraz is already being compared to Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
At 22 years old, the Spaniard has already matched the Grand Slam totals of John McEnroe and Mats Wilander.
Rafael Nadal already believes Alcaraz is a tennis ‘legend’, and who could disagree?
What do you think is Carlos Alcaraz’s best surface and why?
Onlookers have often described Alcaraz as being a combination of the ‘Big Three’: possessing the flair of Federer, the mentality of Nadal, and the athleticism of Djokovic.
We asked Tennishead readers on TalkingPoints to identify the Big Three member Carlos Alcaraz is most similar to.
Thank you for your contributions.
Tennishead readers believe Carlos Alcaraz is most similar to Roger Federer
Matthew Johns made a pertinent point, arguing that Federer is the obvious choice, despite the Spanish connection to Rafael Nadal.
He said: “Alcaraz will always be compared to Nadal given the Spanish connection, but I actually think his game style is far more similar to Federer.”
John Verrall agreed with Matthew’s assessment, saying: “Agree with most other commenters so far, Federer is the one but he does have elements of all three in his game.”
Another contributor simply commented “Federer,” while Peter Lynch added: “A mix of all three is a great shout, but pushed for an answer I think Roger, both so stylish on the court.”
George Patten argued that the comparisons to Nadal are more accurate than some would have you believe.
Which member of the ‘Big Three’ is Carlos Alcaraz most similar to? Let us know why below👇
He said: “He’s a mix of all three really. I know people say the Nadal comparisons are overdone because he’s Spanish, but I do see the similarities.”
Another tennis fan offered his take, adding: “I agree that he’s a hybrid of the 3. He has the Nadal look, Spanish heritage, and Grit + Federer’s playing style + Djokovic’s Mindset.”
“I say Rafa because his attitude is very similar,” another fan added.
One contributor believes Alcaraz is ‘in a class of his own.’
“I will not even liken him to any of the Big Three,” they said. “Alcaraz is in a class of his own. He has no weaknesses that can be exploited.
“Federer’s weakness was his single handed backhand. Nadal used too much energy. Djokovic relied on his movement. But at 38, he is slowing down.”
Another Tennishead reader likened Alcaraz to Brazilian football star Ronaldinho, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2005.
“He has the best things about the big 3,” the reader said. “Shots and angles like Nole, Federer finesse, Nadal’s work rate and shot selections.
“He’s phenomenal to watch, like the Ronaldinho of tennis.”
Roger Federer said he is more similar to Carlos Alcaraz than Jannik Sinner
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne ahead of the 2026 Australian Open, Federer assessed the games of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
“At Wimbledon when Grigor [Dimitrov] was playing against Jannik, I was sitting there, and that made it easy to think how it could have been because Grigor plays very similar to how I played,” Federer began.
“That I think was one of the first times I thought how would it have been to play Jannik in a match situation.
“When I saw Jannik play against Novak in Shanghai, I didn’t feel that way. I was just watching great tennis. They both play very different to how I play.
“When I see Carlos, I feel like there’s more similarities in terms of what we would do in terms of when we would hit a dropshot, when we would come to the net, how passive, offensive we decide to play.
“I think we like to play on our own terms. I think I put myself more into Carlos’ mindset and skin when I watch him.
“With Sinner, at one time I thought like, okay, now I understand how I would play against Jannik.”
