Mark Petchey, a famous and well-respected commentator recently made an appearance on Tennis Channel’s Inside-In Podcast where his opinions on Carlos Alcaraz and his potential were compared to that of the Big 3.
The former English player said comparing Carlos Alcaraz to the Big 3 wasn’t right. According to him, the career achievements of the Big 3 of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer were far superior to that of any other player across generations.
He said that winning 20 Grand Slam titles for an individual was an extraordinary feat in itself, and it should not be considered normal for others.
“We live in an unnatural time, because we’ve had these three players that have won 20 plus Majors, and they have made sporting immortality like normal,” Petchey said on the Podcast.
Petchey also mentioned how every player of this generation will always live in the shadows of Novak, Rafael Nadal, and Federer; comparing their achievements was a ridiculously high benchmark for anyone.
“So everybody else that’s coming in their shadow is getting judged on this ridiculous benchmark that they are never going to hit,” said the former English coach.
The Englishman added that he doesn’t see Alcaraz winning 20 Majors but is confident that the Spaniard will win 10+ Grand Slams titles.
“Do I think Carlos is ever gonna hit 20 Grand Slams? I don’t, but will he win double digits, I think he will, pretty good career right?” he said.
Away from the noise and discussions of tennis is Carlos Alcaraz who is currently defending his title at the Argentina Open. He advanced to the semi-finals of the competition on Friday where he defeated his Italian opponent Andrea Vavassori in straight sets.
The Spanish World no. 2 now faces the challenge of third-seeded Nicolás Jarry to advance to the finals and defend his title on Sunday.
Carlos Alcaraz can only go up, having two majors under the belt is better than having none — Mark Petchey
In the same podcast, Mark Petchey motivated Carlos Alcaraz. He said that he believes in the Spaniard’s talent and there are more Grand Slam titles on his way in the future.
Petchey said that it was unfair to make predictions for the Spaniard’s career at this point. He said that these criticisms and speculations should be avoided by the fans as well.
“I mean, what was that, his 13th major or something, he’s already won two of them, and everyone’s already coming crashing down and saying, like, ‘he needs to do this’,” Mark said.
The British commentator further added to the discussion saying that he would rather have the honor of winning two Majors early in his career than have the lingering thought of ever winning one in the later stages.
“I’ll rather be in Carlos’s shoes with a couple of majors under his belt than someone that hasn’t got it who is at the back end of their career, the epilogue of their career going, ‘am I ever gonna do it? I like his situation personally,” he later added.
