With the US Open 2023 set to be underway on August 28, all eyes will be on the young star, Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard set the tennis court alight when he defeated reigning Wimbledon Champion, Novak Djokovic to win his first title on grass and his second Grand slam.
Purav Raja, the Indian double’s specialist and two-time ATP title winner, spoke on the rising stocks of Alcaraz after his stellar 2022-2023 season that saw him attain the top ranking with the pinnacle being a win at SW18 earlier this year. Raja believes even though Alcaraz still has a long way to go to be spoken in the same breath as the legends, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic himself, the brewing rivalry between the Serbian and Spaniard will be one to watch out for.
Excerpts from the interview:
Carlos Alcaraz has been in the spotlight ever since he won the Wimbledon. Do you think he could be next in line among the greats like Federer, Djokovic, Nadal?
When Marin Čilić won his first grand slam, when Juan Martin Del Potro won a Grand Slam, we used to always celebrate that they won the Grand Slam. We used to not celebrate how many they would win. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic kind of spoilt that for us. We don’t really enjoy Alcaraz winning the Grand Slam because that in itself is a mammoth achievement. So, for me to talk to you about his two Grand Slams and then compare it to Djokovic’s 23 Slams makes it very difficult because there’s so much required. There’s so much luck, there’s so much the body goes through. There’s 15 years of tennis ahead of him. It’s just impossible for me to tell you that. But what I can say is we should enjoy the moment and we should enjoy Alcaraz because, now we’re missing Roger and Rafa.
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I think that it’s immensely important that we focus on the One Grand Slam because that’s tough enough to win. Now these three have spoiled for us by taking that far further. So, can he be one of the greats of the sport? Yes, he can. Will he be? That’s a separate question because greats like Agassi have only won eight Grand Slams.
Do you see any potential rivalry brewing between Alcaraz and Djokovic?
Yeah, it’s great for the sport. I think that’s the rivalry everyone’s looking forward to, right? It’s amazing, how he’s come on the scene, and he has just taken it forward. We were talking about Federer-Nadal, Nadal-Djokovic, Federer-Nadal and now we’re talking about Djokovic and Alcaraz with the same enthusiasm, which is great.
Among the current crop of Indian tennis players, do you see anyone in particular with the potential to match the likes of Sania Mirza, Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna?
When you’re talking about doubles, there are 10 of us in the mix between 50 and 150 in the rankings, right? When you’re talking about Sania Mirza, that’s a different conversation because she’s been top 30 in singles and number one in doubles. When you’re talking about the likes of Bopanna and about Top 10 Players, I don’t see why, anyone can’t do it. For example, Yuki Bhambre had a great year. I think he can, Saketh Myneni had a good year. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sriram Balaji knocking on the door. We are slightly behind at 130, 140, and 150, but it’s all in the mix, right?
READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz Has Re-defined Tennis, But Still Long Way to Go: Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi – News18
When you’re talking about the women’s category, there are 10 people between 50 and 150, so somebody should break through. When you’re talking about women’s singles, you’re talking about one or two girls, Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi, who are in the top 300 and only Ankita in the top 200. So, I mean, that’s a different story altogether. We’d have to wait and see. I’d love to see that happen in doubles. We’ve always had the game, and someone’s always broken through. So why not Yuki (Bhambre)?
Any picks on the challengers for the US Open Men’s Title?
Yeah, I think it’s nice to see Alexander Zverev back in form. And you have to remember that Zverev beat Alcaraz in the quarter-finals before hurting himself. And the year that Zverev has been out Alcaraz has done well. So, let’s not forget that Zverev hasn’t played in that one year because of that freak injury and, obviously Daniil Medvedev has won the US Open, so that gives him an advantage and then you have the likes of Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas who are coming in quite strong. So, I mean, it’s really tough. I think Alcaraz is going to have his hands full, and he has got Jannik Sinner as well. He has got a rough draw. So Alcaraz has a big point to prove, especially at the US Open which he has not won before. He lost to Tommy Paul also.
Speaking of points to prove, do you think Djokovic will be coming back with some sort of revenge in mind?
He’s obviously playing to just win Grand Slams, so, I mean, there’s no revenge. He’s just looking to win another title. He was two backhands away from winning Wimbledon. So, he is definitely not coming in with revenge. He just knows that he wants to win it and for every slam he wants to play, he knows that he is the favourite. So, he’s coming in with a little bit more prowess maybe. But he is coming in with the same mentality. He is going to come in to win the Grand Slam. So that’s his only idea to come there, especially in the US Open.
Watch the US Open (Men’s & Women’s 1st Round Morning Session) – LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 & Sony Sports Ten 2 HD, Sony Sports Ten 5 & Sony Sports Ten 5 HD channels from 8:30 pm IST, 28th August 2023 onwards.
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