Federer's eye-catching reaction to ex-coach sensationally calling Alcaraz 'sick combination' of him, Djokovic, Nadal

In the lead up to the 2023 edition of the Wimbledon Championships, Carlos Alcaraz, seeded no.1 at the event, received the highest possible praise from former tennis professional Ivan Ljubicic, who was also the coach to Roger Federer. The Croat hailed the Spaniard as a "sick combination" of the famed Big Three, a comment that later left Federer stunned during a recent interview. (Wimbledon 2023 Day 5 Live Updates)

"He is positive and he is something we haven’t seen so far – some sort of a sick combination of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal," Ljubicic had said after Alcaraz reclaimed the top spot in ATP rankings with his first ever grass court title at The Queen's Club.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN Sports, Federer was made aware of the exact comment and asked whether he agrees with the same, but the 20-time Grand Slam winner was utterly stunned. His immediate reaction summed it up: ""He said that? That is quite a compliment."

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While the Swiss was all praise for Alcaraz, his mentality and the pressure he puts on fellow competitors on the tour with his presence, he admitted that he wouldn't like to put pressure on a youngster with such heavy remarks.

It's a lot to live up to. I think Carlos at his young age, the age that he is right now, he's doing incredible things," Federer continued. "I always don't like to put too much pressure on younger players, especially like, 'He's going to do this.' But he's the type of player who says, 'Well, I'm coming to Wimbledon, I'm coming to win. I'm coming to Paris, I'm coming to win.' So he's putting that pressure on his own which is great."

"And that's why I can then also say, I think he will achieve incredible things in the future. Which means multiple Slams, many years as hopefully as the World No. 1," he added.

Federer also admitted that he will have his eyes on Alcaraz in the ongoing Wimbledon event even as defending champion Novak Djokovic chases to equal his Ope Era record at the All England Club of eight titles.

"It will be interesting for me to see, especially how he's going to play at Wimbledon and especially the first few matches. Because it's the first few matches where the grass is like this carpet, you know, it's soft, it's slippery, you've got to take that little extra step, losing confidence in your movement and next thing you know, you're not playing so well and things become tricky," he said.

"But I think he's got all the tools, he's got a lot of different ways to win matches and I think that's what champions are made of," he added.

Alcaraz will be playing his second-round match on Friday on Centre Court against Alexandre Müller.

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