"Carlos Alcaraz seems like a hard worker and is not taken by the trappings of being No. 1" - Tennis journalist on what sets the teenager apart
Carlos Alcaraz was recently commended by a well-known tennis journalist for outstanding achievements in his young career.
Giving his views about the World No. 1, journalist Brett Haber deemed his success to be the "real deal." He praised Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open title win after having been the French Open favorite, stating that it showed the teenager’s versatility. Haber further highlighted the Spaniard’s many qualities that pointed towards a successful career.
"In Alcaraz, he looks like the real deal for anything that you can use to measure his success by, and the fact that the first one he got ended up being at the US Open, which, I don’t think that’s what people would have predicted, I think that’s a good sign that he’s the man for all seasons and all surfaces," he noted on the Court-side with Beilinson Tennis podcast.
"He seems eager. He seems like a hard worker. He seems not to be taken by the trappings of having become No. 1. He seems to have his head on his shoulders. I mean, it’s really hard to know the truth of what goes on, but all signs point to ‘This guy is gonna be great’, and if he got (No. 1) as a teenager, that’s a good sign," Haber added.
The journalist also acknowledged Carlos Alcaraz’s result-yielding partnership with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who recently won the 2022 ATP Coach of the Year award.
"His relationship with Juan Carlos Ferrero seems to be one of the most constructive, healthy player-coach relationships that we’ve seen," he said.
"I don’t know which one of those guys after Carlos Alcaraz, is the front runner" - Brett Haber analyses the talent to look forward to after the Big-3 era
In the same podcast, Brett Haber also spoke about the upcoming generation of talent in tennis after the Big 3. Naming the players currently making a mark alongside Carlos Alcaraz, such as Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune, the journalist admitted that their success depended heavily on their health and expressed unpredictability over the player who will likely be the front-runner after the 19-year-old Spaniard.
"I think it’s a great gang, and you know, if the measuring stick is this generation that we’re just now starting to say goodbye to, and you know, in Novak’s case has any number of years remaining, it’s tough to compare, and at 19, you guys know, tennis talent is so hard to extrapolate. I mean, from juniors to the tour, and then from 19 to 25 to 29 to 35, so much of it is health-based," he said, adding, "I don’t know which one of those guys after Alcaraz, (is the) front runner."