The emergence of Carlos Alcaraz as a top star in tennis has come at a very important time according to former player Feliciano Lopez.
Alcaraz is the youngest World No. 1 in tennis history and has already won a Grand Slam with his US Open victory last year at the age of 19.
In more recent times, the Spaniard defended his Barcelona and Madrid titles and is among the favorites not only for the ongoing Italian Open, but the French Open which takes place later this month.
His emergence also comes at a time when Roger Federer is now retired and Rafael Nadal is dealing with ongoing injury problems.
Novak Djokovic is the current World No. 1 for now, but he turns 36 later this month and is bound to slow down eventually.
And for Lopez — who is now the Madrid Open tournament director — it's a blessing for tennis to have Alcaraz competing at this level already with the Big Three era winding down.
“It is not often that you see someone so young with that kind of energy and who can connect with the public,” Lopez told French publication L'Equipe (via Tennis365). “It’s a blessing for tennis to have this player who, at only 20 years old, has already won a Grand Slam and been No.1.
“Because we are at a pivotal moment with Federer gone, Nadal, whom we don’t know yet how long he’ll play, and Novak who’s 35. It’s even more important to have someone like Carlos right now.”
There's still a sense that Carlos Alcaraz is not yet known to the mainstream.
However, winning a second Grand Slam at Roland Garros and perhaps beating Djokovic or Nadal along the way would change that massively.
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