(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Ivan Ljubicic, the former coach of Roger Federer, thinks that Carlos Alcaraz has unique capabilities that blend the qualities of the Big Three: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Ljubicic, however, has some concerns.
“In that match against Novak, he wasn’t as creative and fluid as he usually is, but he brought another dimension to tennis, a dimension young players lacked in the last 10-20 years. He is positive and he is something we haven’t seen so far – some sort of ‘sick’ combination of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.
I just hope that his body holds up, because he is putting crazy demands on his body at this moment,” Ljubicic told Sport Klub. Alcaraz, however, doesn’t think copy any of the Big Three. “There are people who say I have shots from Rafa, shots from Djokovic, shots from Federer, because in the end it’s what they’ve been used to seeing for 20 years.
But I don’t define myself or try to have anyone’s shots, I simply am 100% Alcaraz and that’s what I like to think I am 100% and not copying any other player’s strokes,” said Alcaraz.
Federer’s coach weighed in on the GOAT debate
Besides remarking the qualities of Carlos Alcaraz, Ivan Ljubicic also expressed his view on the GOAT debate.
“I feel that Novak is the most successful already, but the word ‘greatest’ implies subjectivity and personal preference. I think that’s good, to be honest – everybody has a preferred GOAT and let the discussion begin.
If we look at other sports, for example is there a (definitive) GOAT in football? In basketball everybody agrees that it’s Michael Jordan, but he’s not the one with the most trophies. It’s someone that most influenced you personally: for a third of the world it’s Federer, for the other third of the world it’s Nadal and for the final third it’s Novak.
If Novak wins a few more Slams – which seems likely at this point – then the debate becomes meaningless. If Novak ends up having five to ten more than the others, we won’t have conversations like this any more,” said Ljubicic.
