Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player to reach seven Grand Slams since Bjorn Borg when he won the Australian Open.
With three more Slams coming up this season at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open, there’s a strong chance he could increase that total before his next birthday.
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Alcaraz has now been predicted to reach 20 Grand Slams after reaching such a high number before he’s even turned 23.
Ivan Ljubicic says Carlos Alcaraz has it ‘easier’ thanks to Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic
Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Speaking with Tennis World Italia via Punto De Break, the Croatian explained:
“What Federer, Djokovic and Nadal have achieved by winning 20 or more Grand Slams may have made it easier to reach seven at 22 years old.”
Ljubicic said Alcaraz has been given a blueprint of how to achieve Grand Slam success by Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
“Back then the reference point was Pete Sampras. When he reached 14 we told ourselves: ‘I have to do it.’ Now the goal is different. The goal is 25 so we’re still a long way off.”
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“From a mental point of view you tell yourself: ‘Okay, seven isn’t an incredible number because I have to get to 25.’”
“It would be very different to win seven with the goal of reaching ten. In my opinion mentally it’s easier today to win seven Slams than Borg who won them when he was very young.”
No player before or after them managed that sort of dominance over such a lengthy period – but Alcaraz has burst onto the scene as someone who could potentially surpass their achievements.
The Spaniard reached his seventh Grand Slam at a younger age than any of those three.
Carlos Alcaraz’s early career compared to the Big Three
By the time he turned 22, Alcaraz had already built up numbers that stand out even when put next to some of tennis’s greatest.
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Alcaraz passed Nadal’s tally at the same age with his Australian Open win, moving one clear of the Spaniard’s six majors at that point.
Federer, who was often seen as a slower starter, had three Grand Slam titles by then. Djokovic, meanwhile, had just one major by that age – the 2009 Australian Open.
Alcaraz is now well ahead of where any of them were at this stage of their careers. The current Grand Slam records for those three stand at 20 for Federer, 22 for Nadal, and 24 and counting for Djokovic.
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