Roger Federer has urged the chasing pack behind Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to start believing they can surpass the world’s top two players at the Australian Open.
Since the retirements of Federer and Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz (ranked No1) and Sinner (No2) have established the leading active rivalry in the men’s game by winning the past eight major tournaments between them. There is also a significant gap in the world rankings to the next best player, with Alexander Zverev more than 6,000 ranking points behind at No3.
Although the 24-times grand-slam champion Novak Djokovic is still considered a contender at the age of 38, there is a growing consensus that the emergence of a new challenger would freshen up the top of the sport. Federer agrees that the Brazilian 19-year-old João Fonseca has the talent to do so, but insists that he and others should have the ultimate ambition to win the tournament.
Federer believes Fonseca, pictured here with Alcaraz, “like me, needs more time to work on his game”
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“You don’t want to be the third guy,” Federer, 44, said. “You want to be the guy. For anybody… I would think hopefully that’s what he’s thinking. I think anybody from the draw could come here and say, ‘I want to win the Australian Open.’ It should be totally the same for João. I hope he has that mindset.
“I think what separates him from a lot of the other guys in the draw are his power, forehand, backhand, serve and what he’s able to bring point for point. He’s exciting, he has a good aura. I feel like he’s a very likeable character as well. I like watching him play.
“I just think he’s more a little bit like me in the sense he needs a little bit more time to work on his game. Similar to Jannik, as well, to know when to dial back and when to unload his shots. Once he figures that out, obviously the sky’s the limit. But I think he’s truly one of the guys that can compete for the biggest wins.”
There was some uncertainty as to whether anyone could live up to the quality of tennis that the “Big Three” of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic produced in winning 66 grand-slam titles between them, but Alcaraz and Sinner have already produced some thrilling battles. Federer never faced either player towards the end of his career in an official match but has occasionally found himself imagining what it would be like to take them on.
The Swiss describes last year’s French Open final, in which Alcaraz defeated Sinner, as one of the greatest matches in tennis history
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“The rivalry with Alcaraz and Sinner is a great one,” Federer said. “They play incredible tennis. I think that French Open final [Alcaraz won in five sets last year] was unreal. I feel like for a second, for a moment, the world stood still in the sporting world and watched towards Paris, what was going on in that epic fifth set. It is maybe one of the greatest games we’ve ever had in our sport.
“Everybody is trying to keep up and they’re trying to pull away. What we’ve seen in terms of their progression in the last years, it’s been wonderful. I practised with those guys a little bit. They’re incredible ball-strikers. There’s obviously more to come. I just hope they stay injury-free, obviously.
“At Wimbledon when Grigor [Dimitrov] was playing against Jannik [Dimitrov was two sets up in the fourth round before retiring with injury], 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.
“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 drop shot, when we would come to the net, how passive and offensive we decide to play. I think we like to play on our own terms. I think I put myself more into Carlos’s mindset and skin when I watch him.”
Federer has returned to Melbourne for the first time since his retirement in 2022 to take part in an opening ceremony exhibition doubles on Saturday with Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter. Other than a knockabout with Chinese celebrities at the Shanghai Masters last year, it is a rare chance to see Federer back on the court.
Of the present top two, Federer believes his own style was more similar to that of Alcaraz
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“I feel good to rip the Band-Aid off, show up on a big court like here at Rod Laver Arena and get out there,” Federer said. “I’m nervous, I’m excited, I’m happy I’m here.”
The prospect of a return to the tour for Federer as a coach has been left open for the future, but he has four children at home to look after for now.
“Would I coach? Never say never,” Federer said. “[Stefan] Edberg said the same [before he coached Federer from January 2014 to December 2015]. I’m very busy. I have got four children. No chance for the moment.”