Carlos Alcaraz believes three young guns who have made their mark at this year’s Australian Open have good potential to reach the top of the men’s game one day.
Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik, and Learner Tien have all beaten a top 10 player during the first week of the Grand Slam. Something that has only happened on two previous occasions in the Open Era at a major event. Fonseca stunned Andrey Rublev before losing in five sets to Lorenzo Sonego on Thursday. Meanwhile, Mensik knocked out Casper Ruud and Tien defeated three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in a late-night thriller.
The teenage trio has gained a surge of interest, especially Fonseca who reportedly accumulated more than 300,000 additional followers on Instagram within the past seven days. The situation they are in is similar to what Alcaraz experienced a couple of years ago. Now aged 21, the Spanish world No.3 spoke highly about his younger rivals after beating Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2, in his third round match at Melbourne Park.
“I have seen those players. I have seen the level that they have. I haven’t watched too much of Tien, for example, but I watched a little bit last night, and it was incredible. I was surprised a little bit about his level,” said Alcaraz.
I don’t know what ranking they are gonna reach but they have a lot of potential. I mean, I’m talking like I’m 30 years old. I’m just two years older than them!”
Elaborating further Alcaraz believes the young guns can beat anyone and will become more dangerous on the Tour as they get more experience. As for what advice he would give to them, there is one thing that comes to his mind.
“What advice? Don’t beat me, I guess,” he joked.
“I see them capable of beating anyone, including myself. They have the level. They are getting the experience in every tournament they play.
“Last night we saw Tien beating Medvedev here in Australia in five sets, which was amazing. Fonseca playing his first five-sets match yesterday, as well. So they are getting experience. As much as they are getting experience, they’re going to become even more dangerous. Let’s see in the future.”
At the Australian Open, Alcaraz is bidding to become the youngest man in the Open Era to achieve a career Grand Slam. He has already won Wimbledon the past two years, the US Open in 2022 and the French Open in 2024. Alcaraz is also the youngest player currently in the world’s top 10 in the PIF ATP rankings.