Roger Federer's retirement should give Carlos Alcaraz what he needs to reach the next level

Young US Open winner Carlos Alcaraz is set to enjoy a resurgence in popularity following the announcement of Roger Federer's retirement after next week's Laver Cup. The Swiss star confirmed that the O2 Arena event where he will compete alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will be his last professional outing before ending his spectacular career in an Instagram post on Thursday.

Spanish sensation Alcaraz saw his stardom reach a new level after winning the US Open earlier this month, and he's been told Federer fans in sport will flock to him rather than Nadal or Djokovic , seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander. "I don't think it's going to make either [Nadal or Djokovic] more popular because Roger Federer is gone," Wilander said.

"I think Roger Federer takes his popularity with him. I don't know if people who have been fans of Roger Federer are completely devoted to Roger. I don't think they'll jump on the bandwagon or Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, I think they will find a new guy. And the new guy, as we all know, will be Carlos Alcaraz. I think Federer fans will go to Alcaraz.

"I think for Rafa, especially for Rafa, I think there is something that is going to feel empty to him because his greatness was built on the rivalry with Roger Federer. Without Roger, Rafa would probably have been known as a clay court player.

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"Roger took him to the level of 'okay, I want to be able to compete with the greatest player of all time' which is Roger Federer, then Rafa did it because Novak was unlucky just lost one of his favorite opponents to play against. And I think they'll both miss him immensely."

Alcaraz, who also became the new world number 1 after beating Casper Ruud in the final in New York, paid tribute to Federer in a series of tweets. "Roger...," Alcaraz tweeted, along with a broken heart emoji.

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