World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz is confident that the future of men’s tennis is in good hands as the stronghold of the Big Four starts to loosen.
Over the past 15 years, the ATP Tour has been dominated by the quartet of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray who have won 66 major titles between them. This year Federer became the first in the group to retire as Murray continues his steady rise back up the rankings following his battle with injury problems. Meanwhile, Nadal and Djokovic remain a formidable force in the sport with them winning three out of the four major titles in 2022.
One of the players who has managed to break through this season is Alcaraz who defeated Casper Ruud to win the US Open in September and at the age of 19 is the youngest player in ATP history to end a season as No.1.
“For 20 years it’s always been the same players, the Big Four, always winning the biggest tournaments,” Alcaraz told The National. “Right now, there are so many chances to win those tournaments and so many players have those chances. I’m really happy to see a lot of tennis players that can compete at the top. There’s a really big group.”
Alcaraz was the only player this season to have won multiple Masters 1000 titles after triumphing in Miami and Madrid. There was also success in the series for 18-year-old Holger Rune in Paris, Taylor Fritz in Indian Wells and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo.
Heading into 2023, the Spanish rising star faces a new dimension in the sport. Instead of fighting his way to the top of the standings, he faces the challenge of trying to maintain his place. This time last year he was yet to crack the top 30 or win a tournament above ATP 250 level.
“Next season is going to be different for me,” he said. “I’m not going to be one of the guys who is climbing up, I’m there, so this season will be a different mentality.
“I have to be prepared to stay strong the whole year because I’ll be going to lots of tournaments as the favourite. Everyone wants to beat me so I have to be prepared for that.”
Whilst he is aware of the challenge he faces, Alcaraz knows his current place among the best in the world didn’t occur by luck. Coached by former world No.1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, he credits the work he has done both on and off the court.
“It has been really hard,” he admits. “It’s been great that I achieved a lot of great things but at the same time I’ve worked really, really hard every day. So for me, it has been the result of really good work, to be able to achieve what I have this year.”
Alcaraz will be playing in Abu Dhabi this week at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.
