Carlos Alcaraz will have ‘Tiger Woods effect’ on tennis and is a notch above Big Three in one aspect

Tennis News

Shahida Jacobs
June 2, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz will take tennis to a new level and earn male players more money as he has one thing in his locker that Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer don’t have, according to Mats Wilander.

The Alcaraz road show is in full swing at the 2023 French Open as he has reached the third round of the clay-court Grand Slam without breaking much of a sweat – and he has done so with a smile on his face.

Since his rise to the top last year on the back of winning the US Open and becoming the youngest world No 1, the 20-year-old has been compared to the Big Three of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, but Alcaraz himself insists he is not trying to copy any of the legends.

Some pundits believe the youngster has the potential to surpass the greats and Wilander feels he is capable in some aspects.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner says Alcaraz has characteristics of the Big Three, but the Spaniard is a notch above the trio when it comes to one feature.

“I mean, honestly, when Roger Federer arrived it wasn’t a big deal because he wasn’t as good when he was very young,” Wilander told Eurosport.

“He’d beat Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, and then suddenly when Federer started winning Grand Slams, he became the biggest thing that tennis had ever seen because of the gracefulness that he played with.

“And now you take Carlos Alcaraz, who, for me, is the birth of a tennis player who has lived his life watching Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

“And I don’t think he’s based his game on anyone but he’s been sort of poisoned by watching these guys play.

“He moves like Djokovic, he’s passionate like Nadal, he has shot making skills like Federer.

“But the one thing that these guys didn’t do, is they didn’t show the world that they’re having so much fun all the time.

“And that’s why Carlos Alcaraz, to me, is going to be the main reason why tennis players – especially on the men’s side – are going to start making way more money.

“He’s going to be like the Tiger Woods effect because people want to be a part of tennis because of Carlos Alcaraz.”

Alcaraz will return to action on Friday as he will take on 26th seed Denis Shapovalov in the third round with the winner facing either Cameron Norrie or Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round.