"When Pete Sampras won 14 Slam titles, I said 'No one will achieve that again'" - Roger Federer's ex-coach urges caution on Carlos Alcaraz predictions

Roger Federer’s ex coach Severin Luthi had assumed that no player would win 14 Grand Slam titles again after Pete Sampras had done it. Keeping in mind how he got that one wrong, Luthi is being wary of making any predictions on Carlos Alcaraz as he is seen as the next big thing in men's tennis.

After defeating seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in a five-set epic to claim his maiden SW19 title last month, the 20-year-old Spaniard has become the talk of the town.

Many in the tennis community are touting Carlos Alcaraz to dominate the sport for the next few years. However, Severin Luthi has urged caution against making such predictions so early on in the World No. 1's career.

When addressing what Djokovic said about Carlos Alcaraz having the best of all three worlds (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and himself), Luthin agreed that the Spaniard has the ability to win many Majors in the coming years.

At the same time, he shared his concerns on the same, seeing as everything is so dynamic in sports.

"He definitely has what it takes to win many Grand Slam tournaments. And yet we don't know what will happen in two years' time. What if he hurts himself?"

"What if there's another one coming out in a few years that we all say is even more incredible? And: How someone will react to the great success is something we can't estimate that early on. In sport we always live in the moment. I've learned that in my career," Luthi said in an interview with Blick.

Having said all that, he went on to jokingly mention his previous predictions and how he has gotten most of them wrong. He recalled his prediction on Pete Sampras’s Grand Slam record and how he believed that it would never be broken, only for Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to easily overshoot the mark.

“Aside from that, I guess I've been wrong about most of the predictions I've made in my life. I still remember: When Pete Sampras had won 14 Grand Slam titles, I said: No one will ever achieve that again! Now we already have three players who have 20 or more Grand Slam wins. And it's not like 250 years have passed since I made my statement”.

While Federer ended his career last year with 20 Majors to his name, Nadal and Djokovic now have 22 and 23 Slams under their belt as of now.

Jannik Sinner can be a serious competition to Carlos Alcaraz, believes Novak Djokovic's coach

Day Fourteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2023

Novak Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic has claimed that Jannik Sinner has the game to trouble Carlos Alcaraz in the upcoming Grand Slam in New York. Djokovic is the obvious, and for many the only, threat to ending the World No. 1's title defense at the US Open.

But looking at the history between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner has given Ivanisevic the belief that the Italian can challenge the Spaniard.

"The generational change takes six or seven years. I know we look at Medvedev, Rublev, Khachanov, Shapovalov, Felix, Sinner, Alcaraz, Rune… Alcaraz has been here for two years, but let's say Medvedev has been here for five or six, he's 27 years old. They are not from yesterday. Alcaraz is a story in itself and Sinner is the only one who can threaten him at the US Open along with Novak."

“Sinner's game bothers Alcaraz and they've had some very interesting encounters so far. Also, if Medvedev's day coincides and he plays, for me he is also a phenomenal player. Novak is the only dinosaur among the best, the rest are all young.”

Carlos Alcaraz will start his defense of the US Open title with confidence seeing as he is already a better player than what he was in 2022. However, this time around, he will most likely have to get past Novak Djokovic once again to do so. On his part, Djokovic will be out for blood having missed out on the Wimbledon title and also having had to skip last year’s US Open.