Mats Wilander has said that World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz should not be compared with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic, because of the strange circumstances that resulted in him rising to the summit of the rankings.
Alcaraz had a superb breakthrough season, winning two Masters 1000 titles and a maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. However, his ascent came in a season mired with controversy. Djokovic, for example, was barred from playing any tournaments in Australia or North America. This ruled him out of two Grand Slams and four Masters 1000 titles, tournaments at which the Serb would have been the heavy favourite.
On top of this, because of the removal of ranking points at Wimbledon this year, the 21-time Grand Slam champion's victory at SW19 did not come with any ranking points. This meant he lost all 2000 of the points he'd won in 2021, despite defending his trophy.
"I think that there's a validation process that has to happen for Carlos. 'Am I really No. 1 in the world?' That was an unbelievable year. But hold on. There's Holger Rune. There's Djokovic. There is Daniil Medvedev", Wilander told Eurosport.
"So I think there's going to be a bit of doubt there, and I think that you have to take care of that doubt by working really hard physically and mentally and really finding how he needs to play tennis when he is not feeling good".
Wilander goes on to acknowledge the wonderful year Alcaraz has, but believes that the journey he is on is unique and should not be compared to those greats that have come before him.
"He’s the most inspirational tennis player that we have because of what he did in 2022 and most of all because of the way he did it. Never compare him to Rafa, Roger and Novak, the way he did it I've never seen anything like it".
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