Sam Querrey says what Carlos Alcaraz can do which even Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal couldn’t

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Carlos Alcaraz continues to be compared to the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz has finished the year as world number one for the second time in his career and first since 2022.

This even happened despite him losing his final match of the season, with Jannik Sinner beating Alcaraz at the ATP Finals.

Although Alcaraz was unable to match an Andy Murray record at the ATP Finals, former Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey believes that he is actually doing something better than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Sam Querrey pinpoints the big difference between Carlos Alcaraz compared to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Alcaraz backed his forehand as the best at the ATP Finals this year, and that is the shot that both Querrey and John Isner have praised him for.

When speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, Querrey claimed that Alcaraz can hit his forehand so hard and still make the shot the majority of the time, which he suggested is different to the big three.

“In the semifinals Alcaraz hit a forehand against Felix 111mph cross court, and it looked pretty controlled,” said Querrey. “It didn’t look that bad. It wasn’t like those [Gael] Monfils forehands where he’s jumping. It was just like a run over, head still, torso still and he ripped it cross court 111mph.

“I feel like that is one of the biggest differences, especially with Alcaraz, compared to Federer, Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic, he consistently hits forehands that hard that look like he is going to make it nine out of 10 times.”

Isner added, “The margin on it is ridiculous. It’s like three feet inside the baseline and three feet inside the sidelines. He is not going for broke by any means because his margins are so big when he’s going for that shot. It’s simply incredible, he just flat out beats you with the pace of the ball.”

How does Carlos Alcaraz’s 2025 season compare to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s most decorated season?

This year has been the most decorated season of Alcaraz’s career, as he has won more titles than ever before in his career.

Alcaraz has won the French Open and the US Open this year, as well as three Masters 1000 titles as part of his eight tournament wins.

Both Nadal and Federer’s best seasons in terms of title wins saw them win 12 tournaments, which took place in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

Federer won three Grand Slam titles in the 2006 season, while Nadal only won the French Open in 2005.

Although 2005 is Nadal’s most successful season in terms of titles, it could be argued that 2010 was his best year as he won three majors in one season.

Alcaraz has already targeted the Australian Open next year, as he looks to break Nadal’s record as the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam.