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Roger Federer has heaped praise on Carlos Alcaraz and believes he has a bright future.
The Spaniard won Wimbledon at the beginning of the year, defeating Novak Djokovic in July to capture the second Grand Slam title of his career.
However, since that spectacular win, Alcaraz has struggled to regain his usual consistency.
He was unable to win the US Open, a prize he had won last year, while the 20-year-old was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters by Grigor Dimitrov last week.
Roger Federer has full praise for Carlos Alcaraz and his tennis exploits this year
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Some are wondering if Alcaraz is merely a flash in the pan in light of his recent issues.
But Federer praised the young player profusely and made it clear how much he values the tennis star.
“Alcaraz is great,” the 42-year-old, who retired from the game last year, told the ATP Tennis Radio podcast.
“He is still young and what he has achieved is fantastic, not just on clay or hard surfaces.
“Winning Wimbledon against Novak [Djokovic] There is no joke in the final.
“He didn’t really need to prove that point but it’s another super asterisk on his CV. It’s pretty impressive.
“Of course, as it happened with Rafa [Nadal]Novak, me, and [Andy] Murray, we all hope every generation now produces its best tennis every week, but that’s hard to do.
“I think Carlos has performed as well as he could so far.
“And he will lose sometimes, like here in Shanghai, but he is performing brilliantly.
“He has a great game and obviously has an incredible future ahead of him.”
Approaching the Wimbledon final in July, Federer revealed that he was too busy to watch the entire match.
He admitted to missing a ‘fantastic’ match and praised both Alcaraz and Djokovic for their exploits on the court this year.
“The Wimbledon finals, I literally only watched a few games that day because we were running around with the kids and doing things,” he said.
“Then at one point, like I immediately checked to say ‘Okay, I watched the Wimbledon final a little bit’, you know?”
“Of course, I was curious.
“I was checking the scores from time to time, but it was hard for me to sit still.
“But I’m glad that of course the match was as great as it was.
“And I love when great stories come out of the sport and what Novak and Carlos have done again this year is incredible.”
Federer was also asked whether he would return to tennis after leaving the sport last year.
However, he feels that chapter is closed and is okay with retiring.
latest developments:
Carlos Alcaraz in the headlines after early exit from Shanghai Masters
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He said, “I didn’t have a plan because I was always trying to come back and then suddenly I realized that this was it.”
“And then I was just like ‘Okay, it’s over, now what?’
“I think now I feel like I have more control over my schedule than I used to… having just retired, so it’s been nice, honestly.
“I have to be careful not to do too many things, but at the same time I’m happy to be busy, I love being with other people, I love being with my family, I love traveling.
“But I think sometimes you have to make sure you have the right balance and I think I have that, so it’s great.”
