The teenage wunderkind will have four chances to match Nadal's feat of winning a Grand Slam before turning 20. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday March 20, 2022
Four-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 Jim Courier knows a thing or two about spotting young talent on the tennis court.
And he’s extremely high on rising Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
During the broadcast of Nadal’s 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over the 18-year-old on Sunday, Courier said he thinks the teenage wunderkind has a good chance of becoming the first teenage male to win a Grand Slam singles title since Rafael Nadal won Roland Garros at the age of 19 in 2005.
“I think Alcaraz has the potential to do it in the next four majors,” said Jim Courier, four-time Grand Slam champion while calling the match for Tennis Channel. “All signs point towards opportunity for him – it wouldn’t surprise me.”
Alcaraz, who will rise to No.16 in the ATP rankings next week, will head to the Miami Open next week. He says he’ll depart Indian Wells happy, after becoming the youngest semifinalist at Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 1988.
“I thought that I'm able to beat Rafa in some moments,” Alcaraz said. “But as I said yesterday, Rafa has a thousand lives. If he's down, he's able to play at a great level in the tough moments. Yeah, I thought I could win in the third. “And the net, he told me great tournament, good luck for the rest of my career.”
