Every coin has two sides, it is often said. However, this saying fits absolutely perfectly in the sporting world. At just 22 years old, Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz has mesmerized the tennis world with his jaw-dropping displays on the court. He has gone on to win four Grand Slam titles, winning all but the Australian Open. Despite this immense success, his team is hungry for more and has been piling the pressure on the young Spaniard if he wants to reach the level of the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Amid this, former British Number 1, Laura Robson, came to his defense.

Alcaraz is currently in Rome, where he is playing in the Italian Open. The 4-time Grand Slam champion has reached the summit clash and will face Jannik Sinner in what will be an enthralling final. During an interview with Sky Sports Tennis ahead of the big clash, Robson backed Alcaraz after he faced the heat from his team.

She revealed, “It was an interesting documentary because it showed how much pressure he puts on himself and also from his team. They are talking about wanting to get to three or four Grand Slams a year and if we do it for this many years, we will hit Novak’s numbers. To be even thinking about that is kind of absurd.”

Further, she went on to add, “We’ve had the best three players of all-time back-to-back-to-back in Federer, Nadal and Djokovic and for anyone to try and hit those heights would be unheard of. For anyone to finish a career with four or five Slams, that is already amazing. And yet we are trying to get people into the 20s.”

Alcaraz’s last Grand Slam success came last year when he defeated Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon Championships title. Since then, he has had a second-round exit at the US Open and a quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open, which he is yet to win. With a barren run lasting almost a year, Alcaraz’s team feels that the 22-year-old has to step up despite his past success if he is to match the Grand Slam record of the Big Three. Thus, he faced mounting pressure from his team to come up with the goods.

Unimaginable levels set up for Carlos Alcaraz

Although Alcaraz failed to win the Grand Slam title Down Under this year, he has already won a big title at the Monte Carlo Masters. Additionally, he is also in the summit clash in Rome, where he has yet to win a title. However, his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and manager, Albert Molina, want him to change his attitude to match the levels of Federer and Nadal.

In a harsh warning to Alcaraz, Ferrero once stated, “I’m starting to doubt whether Carlos can become the greatest player in history because of his approach to work and sacrifice. It’s so different from the Big 3. We must learn from our mistakes. You need to find the balance between vacation, training, and motivation. And it’s not easy.”

Alcaraz is a big fan of Formula 1 and made an appearance at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza last year after his US Open loss. This didn’t go down well with Ferrero, who strongly criticized Alcaraz for his attitude. Nonetheless, the young Spaniard has taken the criticism in his stride and is going strong in the clay-court season this year. Who knows, he will maybe silence his critics at the upcoming French Open?