Emma Raducanu’s ex-coach Mark Petchey has called Carlos Alcaraz the Michael Jordan of tennis. The Spaniard recently captured his sixth Major title at the US Open.
Alcaraz is the man to beat on the ATP tour. Apart from a brilliant title in New York, he also claimed the honours in Rotterdam, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Queen’s Club and Paris this year.
Petchey, who assisted Raducanu for a brief spell in the past, drew parallels between Carlos Alcaraz and Michael Jordan. He insisted that the youngster had the same X-Factor as the basketball icon in professional sports.
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Tennis fans were quick to share their opinions about the same. Here's what they said after Petchey's tweet went viral:
One fan blatantly denied the comparison and felt Jordan's aura in the 90's is still unmatched to this day:
"Don't know who this guy is, based on this take I feel like I don't need to. Alcaraz is awesome but Jordan in the 90s was something else."
Another user highlighted how Jordan pur basketball on the map and hailed his iconic logo.
"Jordan put basketball on the map. Nobody (relatively) cared about the sport before the Chicago Bulls. That logo transcends the sport."
This fan not only dismissed the comparison but felt Roger Federer was the Michael Jordan of tennis.
"As someone who think Djokovic is the GOAT, and would say pretty comfortably now… Federer is the Jordan of Tennis."
Another fan insisted that Alcaraz and Sinner were sailing the tennis ship together in the modern era, but Jordan was a one-man show in the 1990s.
"Carlos is a special talent and will be the most popular player in the world for years. However, unless he continues to dominate Sinner for years and years (which is possible but doesn’t seem extremely likely), I don’t think their names will be mentioned separately. Much like how Federer was the most popular of the Big 3 but the Big 3 as a group transcended tennis more than any one of them alone."
Jordan was not only the best and most popular player, he had the mythos of 6-0 and 2 three-peats. That’s a level of dominance that is obviously not easy to match."
This user felt it was too soon to compare Carlos Alcaraz and Michael Jordan:
"The only name that has been synonymous with Tennis in recent times is Serena Williams. People who don’t watch at all know her name even more than Big 3. Federer is def Michael Jordan of the sport imo but Alcaraz has to at least be on Serena’s level of fame to enter the convo. I love to watch him play but giving him MJ GOAT status rn is kinda too soon,"
Another fan predicted that it's next to impossible to reach Jordan's level of fame:
"IMO, no one is gonna top Jordan's level until they get a globally recognized logo like the jump man. Fed tried..."
Michael Jordan won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and earned five MVP awards during his career. Beyond his dominance on the court, he became a global icon for revolutionising sports marketing through his brand - Air Jordan.
"I'm a huge fan of him" - Throwback to when Carlos Alcaraz gushed about Michael Jordan and his clothes
Carlos Alcaraz has shared his admiration for basketball legend Michael Jordan. He not only hailed his achievements on the court, but also spoke about his fondness for his brand, Air Jordan.
Here's what Alcaraz said about Michael Jordan in 2023:
“Well, I started to follow the NBA not too far ago. Obviously, I hear a lot about basketball, about NBA. I didn't watch it so much. I've watched a lot of videos and everybody knows Michael, what he did to the game."
"He was something unbelievable. I'm a huge fan of him, huge fan of his clothes as well, as you can see," Carlos Alcaraz added during an interview at the 2023 US Open
Alcaraz reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the world after winning the US Open this month. He will return to the United States for the Laver Cup in San Francisco from September 19-21.
The Spaniard is also expected to fly to Tokyo for the Japan Open this year (September 24-30). He will be competing at the hard-court event for the first time in his career.
