Jimmy Connors Takes a Dig at Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘Older’ Rivals: “Not Going to Beat Him”

The legendary Jimmy Connors took part in a podcast in which he gave his views on Carlos Alcaraz. During the podcast, the eight-time Grand Slam winner spoke at length on what could lie ahead for the Spaniard in the years to come. 

Connors feels that if Carlos can continue doing things the way he is currently, he could end up winning another 15 Majors in the next 12-13 years. While mentioning what the youngster needs to do, he also took a dig at the older players such as Zverev and Tsitsipas who are yet to open their account as far as the Grand Slam are concerned.

Older Generation No Match for Carlos Alcaraz?

The former World No. 1 is fairly impressed by the way Alcaraz is going about his business. He feels that if can maintain the right attitude as he currently is doing, he is only going to do wonders in the sport. 

While mentioning about Carlos, he also indicated that the older players on tour are unable to find a formula to beat the 20-year-old. With time passing by, it is only going to get tougher the guys older to him. 

 

 

 

 

 

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The 70-year-old said,

“Let’s say he plays until he’s 33. If he doesn’t get too full of himself, if he doesn’t think that he has to go out and work hard, if he doesn’t think it’s going to come easy and continues what he’s doing now, he has that passion and smile, I’d say he gets to 15. I’m not saying this cause the guys in front of him are a little older and not going to beat him.”

Connors Believes Younger Players Will Challenge Carlos

There was a time when the youngsters did not have that belief that they could take out the older guys on tour. However, Alcaraz has done that. Jimmy believes that the guys younger than the Spaniard will emulate that belief by taking inspiration from him. 

Connors also took the names of a couple of prospects who will give Alcaraz a hard time in the future. Players such as Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune have troubled Carlos in the past and will surely challenge him on the biggest of stages. 

Speaking on this topic, the American added,

“There’ll be some young kids coming up now that will see him who are 17 or 18 who will believe that if he can do it, I can do it. He’s going to set the bench. It all depends on what comes behind him because he knows what’s in front of him. I don’t think he’s afraid of that.”

Sinner made it to the final four at Wimbledon, whereas Rune lost to Alcaraz in the quarterfinal. However, all these guys play some of their best tennis on the hard courts. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how they perform towards the build up of the US Open 2023.