Andy Roddick has been seeking to name his top three forehands on clay, ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Already there have been some real upsets in Monaco, as well as a few stunning performances from the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic.
Coincidentally, the latter is included in this latest debate alongside Carlos Alcaraz, as the former US and world number one seeks to deliberate between the two.
Andy Roddick pits Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic against each other
Speaking to the Tennis Channel, Andy Roddick was asked to name his top three forehands on clay.
A tricky task to decide upon the bottom two places, the top is unsurprisingly reserved for the king of the surface, with Rafael Nadal a landslide winner.
Arguably, that prediction was so obvious, it needs no airtime at all.
The more interesting battle is between Djokovic and Alcaraz, who he debates over second and third.
In the end, likely due to longevity, he settles on the youngster for that latter spot.
He notes: ‘You look at someone like a Carlos Alcaraz right? All of these metrics kind of play into someone having a big forehand. But defensive ability matters on the forehand side.
‘Chucky Alcaraz is changing the entire game with his ability to get you to split step for the big one, get you into a defensive position and then he kind of drops under it. Forehand dropper still counts as a forehand, he’s quickly changed the game and you’re seeing a lot of people mimic his style now.
Then asked for his number two, he started again: ’I can’t do anything with groundstrokes and leave off Novak Djokovic, I have an original list and I was like ‘This is dumb of me, how am I going to leave Novak Djokovic off of a list of forehands?’ Hard, clay, grass, he’s won them all.
‘He’s done it under pressure situations. Some people can hit it hard and then it goes swirly at 5-5 in a set, that never happens with Novak. He can hit it line, cross, can open up the shoulders especially cross court. I can’t have Novak off of any list that has anything to do with tennis really.’
Novak Djokovic is always a cut above the rest
Not only is his longevity simply unlike anything we have ever seen before in the history of the sport, but the unrivalled levels he has also reached only reaffirm many people’s views that he is the greatest of all time.
So, to compare him to Alcaraz now is fair, given the two have shared some almighty battles across the last few years already. This is especially pertinent given the 41-year-old has suggested the two-time Grand Slam champion is like a mix of the big three…
However, across their entire respective careers, as Roddick says, there are a few who can compare to the legendary Serbian superstar.
He has won it all multiple times, and his monopoly over the sport, particularly since Roger Federer and Nadal’s steady decline, has been tight.
His young Spanish upstart will certainly have the opportunity to disprove Roddick’s suggestion both across the next few years and his entire career, but he will have to produce something exceptionally special if he is to come anywhere near to the levels set by Djokovic by the time he calls time on his playing days.
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