Besides the likes of Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero, few Spanish tennis players have made an impact on the big stage like Rafael Nadal.
World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz is the next big thing from the country. At age 20, Alcaraz has already won two Grand Slams i.e. the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. There have always been comparisons between Alcaraz and Nadal.
Now, amidst all this hoopla, some heavy words of praise are coming in from Nadal himself for the youngster. Despite all the comparisons, Nadal believes Alcaraz is much better than he ever was at that age. In an interview with LaSexta, Nadal said that he didn’t have as much ability with his serving, volleying, backhand, hand-eye coordination, and many other features that Alcaraz already possesses. Most importantly, Nadal mentions that Alcaraz has this hunger of always wanting to face the best in the world, which Nadal never did in his young career.
Rafa Nadal says Alcaraz is better than he was at a lot of things when he was Carlos’ age:
“He's a great kid. A very complete tennis player at his age, with very few weaknesses. At his age I had a worse serve, a worse volley, a worse backhand, I had many things worse than him at… pic.twitter.com/j0rSuYwi70
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 14, 2024
As far as the best in the world is concerned, Novak Djokovic takes the icing on that one. Carlos Alcaraz’s biggest victory last year was against Djokovic at the Wimbledon final. The 20-year-old won that match by 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 after a grueling five sets. Alcaraz also defeated Djokovic one more time at the 2022 ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Madrid. But the Serbian GOAT still has the upper hand over the young Spaniard. Djokovic won three times against Alcaraz – Roland Garros, ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati, and Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, all in 2023.
