"I'll be shocked if there's a dominant other person" - Federer's ex-coach confident of Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic supremacy at 2024 Grand Slams

Roger Federer’s ex-coach Paul Annacone believes Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are currently a little better than the rest of the field and will thus have the upper hand at Grand Slams during the upcoming 2024 season.

Annacone suggested that Alcaraz and Djokovic’s 2023 results were a testament to their superiority. He also claimed, however, that they are just marginally better than the other top players - and not by a lot.

“In my personal opinion right now over the 12 months span, I think Novak and [Carlos] are a little better than everybody. Little better, not a lot,” Annacone said on the Rock n Roll Tennis podcast (47:50).

The American coach added that Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz may not necessarily take the crown at every tournament they feature in but will have the edge over their colleagues at Grand Slam events.

“Does that mean they are going to win every single tournament? No. But I would lean towards them in the Majors – in three out of five sets,” Roger Federer’s ex-coach said.

Paul Annacone also talked about World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev’s rich vein of form, while noting that the players ranked below the top 3 are still developing and have yet to flourish at Majors.

“After Alcaraz I think there’s Medvedev – [he’s] the next one. He’s right there on the heels. He’s close,” Annacone said about the 2021 US Open champion.

“After Medvedev, I think there’s probably 10 names. A lot of those are young names that are still developing. So where will they get to and how will they present themselves in the Majors? That’s why it’s sports, right? We’ve yet to see that,” he continued.

“I’ll be shocked if there’s a dominant other person,” he added, repeating his prediction about the 2024 Grand Slams domination.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic shared the 2023 Grand Slams between them

Carlos Alcaraz (L) stunned Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic overshadowed the rest of the field during the 2023 season, not just at Grand Slams, but also at other significant events.

The Serb collected a staggering seven titles, including the three Grand Slams in Melbourne, Paris and New York. He won the Masters 1000 events in Cincinnati and Paris too. The 24-time Major winner ended his ATP season with a victory at the ATP Finals in Turin.

The Spaniard, meanwhile, lifted six titles. He won his second Grand Slam trophy at Wimbledon, putting an end to Djokovic's five-year dominance (the Serb was the four-time defending champion). The World No. 2 also added two Masters 1000s trophies to his cabinet, in Indian Wells and Madrid.

The other top scorers on the ATP tour this season were World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 4 Jannik Sinner.

Medvedev, who reached his fifth Grand Slam final at the 2023 US Open, clinched five titles, including the Masters in Miami and Rome. Sinner, meanwhile, bagged four trophies, including his maiden Masters 1000 in Toronto.