Feliciano Lopez: "It's a blessing for tennis to have Sinner and Alcaraz as the Big 3 fades away"
In recent hours, Feliciano Lopez, the former Spanish professional tennis player, was extended as the director of the Davis Cup Final 8, the competition that last year saw Rafael Nadal retire during its finale in Malaga, Andalusia.
Interviewed by Mundo Deportivo after this confirmation, the former world No. 12, now 43 years old, spoke about the current generation symbolized by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
"Ultimately, I don’t know if it’s the mentality or the culture we have in Spain that makes us think only the top spot means something, but in Carlos’ (Alcaraz) specific case, I don’t know what we should be worried about.
At the end of the day, he’s a player who, at 21, has already won four Grand Slam tournaments, who is healthy, has no physical issues, and has his future ahead of him. The truth is, the only thing Alcaraz gives me is excitement, because there are still many years left to enjoy watching him.
People talk about his inconsistency. Carlitos has an incredible personality, spectacular tennis, and he continues to forge his path. When he retires, people can have their opinions, saying, ‘I think he could have done more,’ while others will say, ‘I think he maximized his potential.’
The previous generation was the best in tennis history, with three, even four phenoms who would have been clear dominators of their era at any other point in history.
If we compare them to the current generation, of course, it won’t look very positive. But we have Jannik (Sinner) and Carlos dominating the tennis world, and they have a rivalry that will only get better with time because both will keep improving—that’s what we should focus on.
It’s a blessing for tennis to have these two phenoms, Sinner and Alcaraz, emerging just as the Big 3 (Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic) are gradually fading away," Lopez concluded for the Spanish media.
