17 July 2023 , 11:09
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Novak Djokovic and Boris Becker appear to disagree over who the more complete player is - Carlos Alcaraz or Roger Federer.
Alcaraz, at the tender age of 20, became Wimbledon champion for the first time on Sunday when he beat legend Djokovic in a five-set epic. Post-game, the Serbian hailed Spanish wonderkid Alcaraz and suggested that he was more difficult to play against than the great Federer, who he was aiming to go level with on eight Wimbledon titles.
"I haven't played a player like him ever, to be honest," Djokovic admitted. "Roger and Rafa [Nadal] have their own obvious strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces."
Becker, however, reckons that Alcaraz still has a way to go in order to reach the level of Federer, who retired last year. Asked by a fan on Instagram who the most complete player in men's tennis history is, the German icon simply replied: "Roger Federer."
His answer is especially notable since Becker spent three years as Djokovic's coach following a career which included six Grand Slam titles. The 55-year-old also knows plenty about winning Wimbledon in his youth, as Becker remains the youngest-ever champion of the men's singles competition, doing so aged 17 in 1985.
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Like Becker, Alcaraz has been tipped to have a career for the ages, with Djokovic claiming that he has the best attributes of the sport's modern-day 'Big Three' - himself, Federer and Nadal. "I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself," the 36-year-old explained.
Have your say! Who's side are you on - Novak Djokovic's or Boris Becker's? Let us know in the comments section.
Roger Federer has won Wimbledon a record eight times (Daniel Leal-Olivas - Pool/Getty Images)
Carlos Alcaraz won his first ever title at SW19 on Sunday (Karwai Tang/WireImage)"I would agree with that. I think he's got basically the best of all three worlds. He's got this mental resilience and real maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It's quite impressive. He's got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defence that we've seen with Rafa over the years."
Djokovic is already eyeing revenge in the US Open which gets underway on August 28. "I would hope [this is going to be the start of a big rivalry], for my sake," he added. "He going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don't know how long I'll be around.
"Yeah, I mean, let's see. It's been only three matches that we played against each other. Three really close matches. Two already this year in the later stages of Grand Slams. Yeah, I hope we get to play in the US Open. Why not? I think it's good for the sport, 1 and 2 in the world facing each other in almost a five-hours, five-set thriller. Couldn't be better for our sport in general, so why not?"