“I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of him,” Novak Djokovic rates the chances of Carlos Alcaraz potentially matching the dominance of the Big 3 in tennis

Carlos Alcaraz has won four Grand Slam at the age of 21, which is more than the Big 3 members combined.

“I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of him,” Novak Djokovic rates the chances of Carlos Alcaraz potentially matching the dominance of the Big 3 in tennis

Carlos Alcaraz and the Big 3 (via X)

Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic shared his thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz potentially matching the achievements of him and his Big 3 rivals one day. The Serbian was speaking to the media ahead of his Madrid Open campaign.

Djokovic believes that his own success came between the ages of 23 and 33. However, Alcaraz is still only 21 and may achieve much more before reaching his prime years.

Yes, there was domination, obviously, from Rafa on clay, or Roger on grass, me on hard court would win, whatever, three, four years in a row, Indian Wells, Miami, back-to-back. But that also came, for me personally, that level of I guess dominant tennis and achievements, when I was 23, 24 years old and then after that. So between, let’s say, 23 and 33 is when it was really happening. And now Carlos is still not 23. We have to remember that his age and what he has done for his age is not also normal. I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of him on the big stage with trophies in the future in, whatever, 10 years, 15 years, as long as he’s playing.

Novak Djokovic in his pre-tournament press conference at the Madrid Open

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic created the most dominant era in tennis history. The trio have won a combined 66 Grand Slam titles and spent nearly 1,000 weeks as World No. 1.

In the current era, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are seen as the two main candidates to surpass the Big 3. The pair have already collected a total of seven Grand Slam titles and 10 Masters 1000 trophies.

Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from the Madrid Open

World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Madrid Open. He has an adductor injury that is affecting his movement. This comes just weeks before the French Open. It’s a big setback in his clay court season.

Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

The injury happened during the final of the Barcelona Open. Alcaraz lost that match to Holger Rune in straight sets. He hoped to recover in time for Madrid. But medical tests showed he needs more time to heal.

There are now doubts about his participation in the Italian Open. That tournament starts on May 6. Alcaraz has not yet confirmed if he will play there. However, there is hope he will be ready for the French Open on May 25.

As a top seed, Alcaraz had a bye into the second round in Madrid. He was set to face the winner of Zizou Bergs vs. Gabriel Diallo. With his withdrawal, Kamil Majchrzak will now take his spot in the draw.

Carlos Alcaraz in the mix of the highest match-winning percentage at the Madrid Open

Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz will miss the 2025 Madrid Open due to injury. Still, he holds the best win rate at the tournament since it switched to clay in 2009. His record stands at 88.24%, with 15 wins and only 2 losses.

Carlos Alcaraz (3)
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Alcaraz won the Madrid title in both 2022 and 2023. He beat Alexander Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff in those finals. His only losses came against Rafael Nadal in 2021 and Andrey Rublev in 2024.

Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal are tied behind him with a win rate of 82.14%. Zverev has won the title twice and reached another final. Nadal, though not at his best in Madrid, still managed to win four titles.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer both hold win percentages of 80%. Djokovic won the event three times. Federer also claimed two titles and had strong runs, despite clay being his least favorite surface.

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