Pat Cash hopeful Carlos Alcaraz can maintain career joy

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash is hopeful that Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz will be able to continue enjoying the sport even if he manages to complete the career Grand Slam. The 21-year-old is already regarded as one of the best men’s tennis players in the singles category in the world, along with the likes of Italy’s Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz has had a fabulous year, winning two out of the four Grand Slams. The world number three first lifted the French Open for the first time after beating world number two Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2. He then lifted the Wimbledon title for the second time in his career, once again after beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.

Those performances mean that Alcaraz is now just one step away from completing a career Grand Slam. If he wins the Australian Open next year, he can join an elite list of players to have completed a career Grand Slam, despite not even turning in 2022. Former Wimbledon champion Cash has recently spoken to Tennis 365, where he stated that one of the biggest challenges the young Spaniard will face is to continue enjoying the sport after winning so much so early in his career, which is essential for him if he wants to join the greats of the game.

“I hope Carlos continues to enjoy his tennis and doesn’t feel burdened by it all,” said Cash. “He could look at it and think ‘I’ve done just about everything and I’m getting sick of this’, but you can see he loves it at the moment and it’s amazing that he is such a complete player at this age. Alcaraz has got everything. I’ve never seen a young player who has developed all his game at such a young age. There are normally some areas that need improving at that age. Not since Boris Becker came through and won Wimbledon have I seen a player as complete as Alcaraz at such a young age. Alcaraz is an incredibly complete. He’s lightening fast, he can play on any surface and at the moment, you would put him in there with Sinner as a favourite for every tournament he enters.”