Following his stunning victory in the Wimbledon final, Carlos Alcaraz is tipped to become a tennis great and win double-digit Grand Slams, according to former player Feliciano Lopez.
Feliciano Lopez, who retired from professional tennis last month, watched Alcaraz firsthand while undertaking media duties at the Championships this year. Lopez agreed with the notion that Alcaraz embodies the qualities of the Big 3 - tennis' famous trio of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz's breathtaking five-set win over Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final takes his Grand Slam title count to two. Lopez was quizzed on whether he believed his compatriot could be on his way to greatness. Although he admitted it is still too early to make such predictions, Lopez sees no reason why the young phenom cannot rack up as many as 15 Slams in his career.
"If I take everything he has done already, I can fairly say he could be one of the greatest. On the other hand, it is very early to say. But what about 15 Grand Slams? How does that sound?"
Lopez admitted that while it is a strong statement to say, he also pointed out Spain has now found a worthy successor to Rafael Nadal - winner of 22 Grand Slams and one of the greatest players in history. Nadal, of course, is nearing the end of his playing career, and in Alcaraz, Spain has unearthed a gem of a player.
"It is very rare to see someone like Carlos winning titles at 20, being able to challenge Novak Djokovic in the final of Wimbledon. We (Spain) are not a very powerful country in sports,"
"I call it like a miracle because it is very rare to see someone like Carlos, especially the timing when you know Rafa is about to finish his career and then we have Carlitos breaking through. It's really amazing for Spanish in general and for everyone because it's something very rare to see."
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