"I don't think Carlos Alcaraz is ever gonna hit 20 Grand Slams" - Andy Murray's former coach Mark Petchey

Andy Murray's former coach Mark Petchey recently said he doesn't believe Carlos Alcaraz will win 20 Grand Slam titles.

Alcaraz is currently defending his title at the 2024 Argentina Open. On Thursday, he secured a victory against Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the second round and is set to face Italy's Andrea Vavassori in the quarterfinal on Friday (February 16)

In a recent episode of the Tennis Channel's "Inside-In" podcast, Petchey discussed the achievements of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal, and pointed out that the tennis legends have set an exceptionally high bar. Petchey noted that they have made sporting immortality seem routine with their twenty-plus Grand Slam titles each.

“We live in an unnatural time, because we've had these three players that have won 20 plus Majors and they have made sporting immortality like normal,” Petchey said (11:00).

He further said that every rising star is coming in the shadow of the Big 3 and will also be judged by the benchmark set by Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.

“So everybody else that's coming in their shadow is getting judged on this ridiculous benchmark that they are never going to hit,” he said.

Petchey added that he doesn’t see Alcaraz winning 20 Majors but is positive that the Spaniard will reach double digits.

“Do I think Carlos is ever gonna hit 20 Grand Slams? I don't, but will he win double digits, I think he will, pretty good career right?” he said.

Alcaraz has won two Grand Slam titles so far. On the ATP tour, only seven players have won 10 or more Grand Slam titles. They are: Novak Djokovic (24), Rafael Nadal (22), Roger Federer (20), Pete Sampras (14), Roy Emerson (12), Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg (11 each), and Bill Tilden (10).

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Mark Petchey prefers having two Majors like Carlos Alcaraz over being at the end of a career without such achievements

2024 Australian Open - Carlos Alcaraz

In the same podcast episode, Mark Petchey said he'd rather be like Carlos Alcaraz, who has won a couple of Majors, than someone who hasn't gotten.

“I'll rather be in Carlos's shoes with a couple of Majors under his belt than someone that hasn't got it who is at the back end of their career, the epilogue of their career going am I ever gonna do it, I like his situation personally,” Petchey said (12:15).

Carlos Alcaraz turned pro in 2018. The two Grand Slam titles he has won are the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. He also has quarterfinal and semifinal finishes at the Australian Open and the French Open, respectively.