Tennis legend Roger Federer has offered his praise for young gun Carlos Alcaraz, acknowledging his impressive rise while offering a reminder that even the best face setbacks.

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Alcaraz burst onto the scene in 2021, making a name for himself with a US Open quarterfinal appearance and finishing the year ranked 32nd in the world. In 2022, he took the tour by storm, capturing five titles, including his first Grand Slam win at the US Open, and claiming the year-end No. 1 ranking.

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This season, Alcaraz has continued his dominance, adding Wimbledon and several other prestigious titles to his trophy case. Despite a recent loss at the Shanghai Masters, Federer remains impressed.

“Alcaraz is great,” Federer said on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast. “Look, he’s still young, and everything he’s achieved is fantastic… But also now winning Wimbledon against Novak in the final, that is no joke. He didn’t need to really prove that point, but that’s another super accomplishment.”

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Federer acknowledged the pressure placed on young stars like Alcaraz to consistently perform at the highest level. “We all expect every generation to produce their best tennis every single week for some reason, but it’s hard to do that,” he said. “And I think Carlos, he’s done as well as he possibly could have so far. And he’s going to lose some time to time, like here in Shanghai, but he’s doing fantastic. He’s got a great game and obviously an unbelievable future ahead of him.”

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Federer, who himself is no stranger to losses, highlighted the importance of learning from defeats. Alcaraz’s recent Shanghai setback came after a hard-fought battle against Grigor Dimitrov.

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Looking back at the 2023 Wimbledon final between Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, Federer admitted to catching glimpses of the match while juggling family commitments. “The Wimbledon final, I only literally saw a couple of games that day,” he said. “But I was happy that the match was as great as it was, of course. And I love when great stories come out of the game, and what Novak and Carlos have done again this year has been incredible.”

Federer’s praise underscores Alcaraz’s meteoric rise and the immense talent he possesses. While occasional stumbles are inevitable, Federer’s comments suggest that Alcaraz is well on his way to a legendary career.