Roger Federer Identifies Aspects in Which he Sees Similarities With Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz will open his 2026 Australian Open campaign against Adam Walton.

Roger Federer Identifies Aspects in Which he Sees Similarities With Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz, Roger Federer (Image via X/alcaraz archive)

Roger Federer has opened up about the similarities he sees between World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and himself. The tennis legend arrived at the Australian Open ahead of the tournament kick-off on Sunday (January 18) in Melbourne. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is in Melbourne ahead of the inaugural opening ceremony of the Grand Slam event.

Alcaraz has stamped his place as one of the best players of his generation and has backed the claim with several titles in his career. However, the 22-year-old is known for his variety of shots on the court and often uses them to trick his opponents, and sometimes produces good serves in matches.

But that’s not the same as Federer, who loved to hit backhand shots and slide. Sometimes he uses drop shots, which often leads his opponents to chase the ball for return, but after doing so, Federer hits a lob. The Swiss legend‘s style of play is known to have a good effect in matches but without much sweat.

Also, he’s known to read his opponent’s tactical display, maneuvering them to claim the victory. Federer is more consistent than Alcaraz and, in very tough conditions, produces a more confident display. Nonetheless, Alcaraz is young and has time to learn from the tennis great.

During a press conference at the Australian Open, Federer was asked if he saw any similarities between himself and Alcaraz. The 8-time Wimbledon champion noted that he sees a bit of himself in the Spaniard, particularly in terms of the nature of their approach towards their matches in tournaments:

Carlos, when I see him, I feel like there’s more similarities in terms of what we would do, in terms of when we would hit a drop shot, when we would come to the net, how offensive, how passive do we decide to play, because I think we like to play on our terms. So I put myself more into Carlos’s mindset and skin.

Federer, a six-time Australian Open champion, is back in the tournament for the first time since his final on-court appearance in 2020. He is set to headline the Inaugural opening ceremony of the tournament on Saturday (January 17), with the likes of fellow legends Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter, and Lleyton Hewitt in an exhibition match.

Roger Federer backs Carlos Alcaraz to complete the career Grand Slam

Carlos Alcaraz is chasing history at the Australian Open. He aims to become the youngest man to complete a Career Grand Slam by winning the Melbourne Grand Slam for the first time. He has yet to advance beyond the quarter-finals of the tournament, but arrives at the season’s first major as the top seed ahead of his rival Jannik Sinner.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

Roger Federer knows how elusive the achievement can be, as he was 27 when he finally won the French Open to complete his own career Grand Slam. During the aforementioned press conference, he backed Alcaraz to finally hit his long-standing pursuit at this year’s edition of the Australian Open:

But at his young age, to be able to complete the career Grand Slam would be crazy. Let’s see if he’s able to do something crazy this week, and I hope he does because, for the game, that would be an unbelievably special moment. But there are another hundred or so players saying, ‘We don’t agree with those plans,’ so they’ll try everything to stop him.

Alcaraz will open his Australian Open account against Adam Walton. He could possibly face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the fourth round before a potential clash with Alex de Minaur or Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals. After that, he’s likely to take on Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev in the last four.

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