Carlos Alcaraz labelled a ‘sick combination’ of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Carlos Alcaraz has been labelled a hybrid of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by former world No 3 Ivan Ljubicic, who says the Spaniard has brought a freshness and new dimension to tennis.

The 20-year-old Alcaraz unlocked yet another achievement over the weekend as he won his maiden grass-court title, defeating Alex de Minaur in the final of the Queen’s Club Championship, with the result also ensuing he returned to No 1 in the ATP Rankings.

In the process, he also became the fifth youngest player after Bjorn Borg (17), Mats Wilander, Jimmy Connors and Lleyton Hewitt (all 19) to win a title on all three surfaces.

With the US Open and a host of other trophies on clay and hard courts already in his possession, many believe Alcaraz will dominate the sport for years to come.

Ljubicic, who coached Federer from 2016 until the Swiss maestro retired in September last year, explained just why Alcaraz is a notch above other young players who have broken through following the dominance of the Big Three of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.

“Alcaraz brought freshness to tennis – against Novak [in the French Open semi-final] he was not as creative and fluid, but otherwise he brought a dimension that the younger players lacked in the last 10 or 20 years: something positive, something different, something that has not been seen before,” he said in an interview with Sport Klub.

“He is a ‘sick’ combination of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, we hope that the body can withstand it – what he asks of his body is not very normal.”

Djokovic, of course, defeated Alcaraz in the last four at Roland Garros and went on to win a third title in Paris with victory over Casper Ruud in the final.

With the trophy, Djokovic became the first man to win 23rd Grand Slams and many believe his latest success cemented his status as the greatest tennis player of all time (GOAT).

Although Ljubicic concedes that the GOAT debate is subjective, he acknowledges the topic will become mute if Djokovic ends up with 10 more Slams than Nadal and Federer.

“I think that Novak is already the most successful. But the terminology ‘greatest’ is ungrateful and subjective. That’s great – everyone has their biggest, and let the discussion begin,” the Croatian said.

“If we look at other sports, is there a GOAT in football… In basketball, [Michael] Jordan is the GOAT, but he didn’t win the most.

“It’s someone who touched you the most – for a third of the world it’s Federer, for a third it’s Nadal, for a third it’s Novak. If Novak wins a few more Slams – and it seems he will – then the debate will have less and less meaning. If Novak depends on five or 10 Slams more than others, we will not hold such discussions.”

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