With Wimbledon around the corner, Carlos Alcaraz will be looking to claim a third successive Grand Slam title.
Earlier this month, Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner to claim the French Open for a second year in a row, and between them, they’ve won the last six Grand Slams.
That might not be overly healthy for the men’s game, even if Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer used to dominate before the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray came along to spoil the party.
The discussion at the moment in tennis is which player can form the Djokovic figure of the modern game and try to break up the dominance of the two players.
Now, Andy Roddick has shared which player he thinks will be the next to enter the winner’s circle…
Andy Roddick picks next Grand Slam winner that isn’t Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner
Interestingly, Roddick has gone for Great Britain star Jack Draper as the next to break the stranglehold on the Grand Slams by the world’s top two players.
Draper has shot up the world rankings and should he reach the semi-final at Queen’s, he will go into Wimbledon inside the top four on the ATP world rankings.
Roddick is a huge fan and thinks he has the game to trouble both Alcaraz and Sinner at the major events.
He said live on the Tennis Channel: “I love Jack Draper, I think his game is so complete, I think he returns well, he absolutely rips it on forehands, the lefty serve and he can actually do things that bother Carlos and Sinner and I think he can actually grind out enough holds.
“Tracy brings up a great point. I remember playing Andy Murray at Wimbledon and you open up the paper, and the first six pages for that day were everything about Andy, what bar he’s eating in the warm up, it almost becomes stupid, so who knows how he will deal with it.
“I do think it will be easier because Murray got through and won twice; he’s not dealing with the ghosts of history like Murray was, but I love Jack Draper too.
“I had it written here before the odds were shown, I’ve gone for Draper. He’s come on leaps and bounds. The fitness has improved, the backhand was a weakness up until about 18 months ago, now he’s taking swings up the line, and the forehand is next level.”
Draper on the cusp of Wimbledon bonus
Last year was a little bit disappointing for Draper as he was dumped out in the second round by Cameron Norrie, who flexed his credentials against the new kid on the block.
This year, Draper has more experience under his belt and in August last year, he went to the semi-final of the US Open.
Having won what most players call the fifth major at Indian Wells earlier this year, Draper has now showcased that he’s got what it takes to keep improving and eventually claim a Grand Slam title.
Draper being in the top four ahead of Wimbledon would be huge, as it would mean that he would avoid other members of the top four before the semis.
That offers him a huge incentive at Queen’s this week, and it will be fascinating to see what he can do at the event from this point.
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