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Brad Gilbert said he would be "absolutely shocked" if Carlos Alcaraz remained at just one Grand Slam title by the age of 24. Alcaraz, 19, lifted his first Grand Slam title after beating Casper Ruud in the 2022 US Open final.
Alcaraz, who also became the youngest No 1 in tennis history, didn't compete at this year's Australian Open due to a knee injury. "If you told me five years from now that he’d won six or seven Slams, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.
Maybe it’s 10, maybe it’s less. Obviously a big factor, too, is luck—injuries. He plays so physical. But if you told me in five years that he had only one Slam, I would be absolutely shocked," Gilbert told Vogue.
Gilbert on Alcaraz's influence
"He transcends wherever he’s playing. People everywhere want to root for him because he’s so exciting to watch," Gilbert added. In the same interview for Vogue, Alcaraz explained what makes the success of the Big Three so extraordinary.
"What Rafa, Roger, and Djokovic have done is almost impossible. I think when you’ve won your first Grand Slam you realize how complicated that is. I’m going to keep wanting to make my dream come true, even though I already have," Alcaraz said.
When Alcaraz became a Grand Slam champion last September, he had a bit of a weird feeling as he was wondering what to do after accomplishing his biggest childhood dream. "I had a bad period after I won the US Open. I think what happened was, when I saw that I’d achieved what I’d dreamed of since I was a little kid, unconsciously that aspiration dimmed a bit.
I thought, Where do I go now?" Alcaraz recalled. Meanwhile, Alcaraz kicked off his 2023 season at last week's Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, where he won the title. This week, Alcaraz is defending his Rio Open title.