The Big Four’s influence on men’s tennis is starting to wane, but World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is optimistic about the sport’s future. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray have dominated the ATP Tour for the past 15 years. Federer was the first of the quartet to retire this year, as Murray continues his slow rise back up the rankings after battling injury issues.
Nadal and Djokovic won three of the four major tournaments in 2022, demonstrating their continued dominance in the sport. Alcaraz is one of the athletes who has achieved success this year. Her US Open victory over Casper Ruud was recorded in September.
“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, who triumphed in Miami and Madrid, was the only player to win multiple Masters 1000 championships this season. Additionally, the series was successful for 18-year-old Holger Rune in Paris. The emerging Spanish star in the sport will encounter a new challenge in 2023.
Everyone wants to beat me so I have to be prepared for that” – Carlos Alcarez
He must now contend with trying to hold onto his position rather than fighting to the top of the leaderboard. He hadn’t yet won anything above the ATP 250 level or cracked the top 30 at this point last year.
“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 favorite. Everyone wants to beat me so I have to be prepared for that.”
Alcaraz is competent he must overcome it, but he also understands that he didn’t get to where he is now by accident. Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former world No. 1 coach, praises him for his efforts 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.”
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