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A former ATP professional has rubbished the comparison between Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Novak Djokovic and the one achieved by Roger Federer over Pete Sampras in 2001.

Federer’s win is a clear changing of the guard moment for tennis but Robbie Koenig doesn’t feel that Alcaraz has assumed the mantle of dominator of Wimbledon or tennis as a whole just yet.

Koenig feels that Djokovic is far from done and Alcaraz won’t have things all his own way just yet either.

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He would add that Alcaraz also did not achieve the same kind of dominance in beating Djokovic that Federer did when he blew past Sampras to deny him another title.

While Sampras would go on to win one more Grand Slam after that loss to Federer it became clear that his time as king of tennis was clearly over.

Koenig doesn’t believe that the same is true of Djokovic at this stage.

“[A] couple of commentators here were talking about the Federer-Sampras match being similar to that,” Koenig told the Tennis Channel.

“It’s not similar at all.

“Djokovic has won two majors here by the way and Alcaraz has just and only just sneaked out this one

“He’s [Djokovic] has such a disrupted last couple of years that, if he’s going to be in full flow and play the schedule he wants for the next three or four years he’s going to be challenging at the shop.

“I mean look how easily cruised through the draw at Wimbledon.

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“But there’s definitely no passing of the torch I don’t even think it’s remotely comparable to the Sampras-Federer match that everybody was talking about.”

Koenig is not willing to go out on a limb as to how many Grand Slams Alcaraz will end up with but believes he is more than capable of notching 15 or so if things go well for the Spaniard.

He feels that Alcaraz might have to guard against complacency to get the most from his career.

“If Carlos Alcaraz plays until he is 33. So, he has got 13 years. Let’s just say he plays for 12 more years, that is 48 more slams.

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“And if he doesn’t get too full of himself, I would say 15.”

“That is if he doesn’t think he doesn’t have to go out and work hard and it’s gonna come easy.

“He needs to continue what he’s doing now and looks like he will.

“He has that passion, that smile, that excitement, and that feel for what he’s doing.”

 

It has been over two years since Emma Raducanu broke onto the tennis scene, reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon much to the delight of home fans. The youngster’s run to the US Open title that year catapulted her to worldwide stardom, and her journey has been well documented since.

Amid the frenzied media coverage, however, fans tend to forget that there are aspects of Raducanu’s young career that have hardly been talked about. Taking note of the same, Raducanu’s agent, Max Eisenbud, said her family’s handling of the youngster’s sudden stardom is not talked about enough.

emma racudanu

On the latest episode of The Tennis Podcast, Eisenbud said people often forget that Raducanu was still attending school when she made the second week at Wimbledon.

“I don’t think Emma Raducanu’s family got enough credit for how they handled her. The lead up to Wimbledon and US Open wins. Here’s a girl who never went to a tennis academy who stayed in school, regular school, her whole career all the way,” Max Eisenbud said.

Elaborating, he said that Raducanu had barely played any tennis in the lead-up to the Championships, crediting her parents for being brave in sacrificing her tennis development to ensure that she got an education.

emma racudanu

“I think we all know the story. She barely played leading up to Wimbledon because she was studying,” Max Eisenbud continued.

“I mean, these are like amazing things that I don’t think much of the British media talked about. And I think that’s a shame because I think that was very brave of her parents and her to again, sacrifice her tennis development for education,” he added

Emma Raducanu’s agent Max Eisenbud has praised the 20-year-old and her family for making a unique decision before she went on to win the US Open.

Emma Raducanu’s agent has praised the Brit for staying in school to complete her education before turning to tennis. Max Eisenbud said the 20-year-old and her family didn’t get enough credit for the decision, which he branded a “missed story”

emma raducanu

Raducanu has been sidelined in recent months after undergoing three surgeries in May and will also miss the upcoming US Open, where two years ago she became the first qualifier to win a Major title. It was part of her magical 2021 season, which started with a breakthrough at Wimbledon.

Ranked at No 338 in the world and aged just 18, she made her Grand Slam debut at SW19 just a few weeks after completing her A-Level exams and stormed into the second week. And Raducanu followed that up by lifting the trophy in Flushing Meadows later that summer.

But her agent believes that the beginnings of Raducanu’s story – her decision to stay in formal education until her A-Levels were done – has been missed out among the ongoing coverage of her rise. Speaking to The Tennis Podcast, IMG super-agent Eisenbud said: “One thing I’d like to add about Emma that I think doesn’t get enough.

Emma Raducanu

“I think after she won, I don’t think her family got enough credit for how they handled her [in] the lead-up to Wimbledon and the US Open wins. Here’s a girl who never went to a tennis academy, who stayed in school – regular school – her whole career all the way until the end.”

Eisenbud – who also managed the careers of Maria Sharapova and Li Na – explained just how rare the commitment to education was in professional tennis. “I can’t remember the last Grand Slam champion who didn’t leave school before the age of 14, who was willing to sacrifice her tennis development to make sure she got her education,” he continued.

“I think we all know the story, she barely played leading up to Wimbledon because she was studying for her [A-Levels]. I mean these are like amazing things that I don’t think much of the British media talked about and I think that’s a shame because I think that was very brave of her parents and her to again sacrifice her tennis development for her education.”

Weeks before her Wimbledon debut, Raducanu had completed her education at Newstead Wood – a selective grammar school. Later in the summer, she received her A-Level results, obtaining an A* in maths and an A in economics.

And Raducanu’s agent also thought it was unlikely that another big title winner would follow the same path. He added: “I don’t see that ever happening anywhere. I don’t think there will ever be another Grand Slam champion again that wins after going to regular school. So I think that story was a miss and I think overall though, the British press has done a pretty good job of following her and writing about her.”

Lionel Messi put on a show for his new set of fans when he took to the pitch to make his Inter Miami debut on July 21.

Messi was introduced alongside his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets in the second half of Miami’s game against Cruz Azul in the League Cup.

With the game evenly poised at one-all, Messi was fouled just outside the area. The Argentine stepped up to take the free kick himself, sending the ball past the wall and inside the back of the net, sending the stadium into a frenzy.

serena williams

Among those who had gathered at the DRV PNK Stadium to watch the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner play was Serena Williams, who is a star in her own right as far as tennis is concerned.

Williams was in Florida alongside NBA legend LeBron James, NFL star Tom Brady, and socialite Kim Kardashian among other stars.

Footage showed Serena Williams shell-shocked after Messi’s freekick went in. The 23-time Grand Slam winner could not believe her eyes as Messi wheeled away in celebration.