Nadal, on Alcaraz: His career “is on track to be something unique”

San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Madrid) (EFE).- Former tennis player Rafael Nadal stated this Wednesday that considering the titles won by Carlos Alcaraz at 22 years old, with six ‘grand slams’ in his record, the career of the world number one “is on track to be something unique”, although he asked that he be given time.

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Nadal emphasized that the dominance being exerted by Alcaraz and the Italian Janick Sinner is not comparable to that of himself along with the Serbian Novak Djokovic and the Swiss Roger Federer. “It’s Sinner and Carlos and we were us, and that’s it. In the end, everyone has to live their own story, every story is different and there’s no need to be comparing all day (…) Let’s enjoy that great rivalry and stop comparing,” said the former Mallorcan tennis player in statements to the media at the Real Club de Golf de La Herrería in San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Madrid), where he participated in a charity golf tournament. The ‘Big three’ marked an era In his opinion, the so-called ‘Big three’ marked an era by changing “the numbers that had been made up to that moment” in terms of triumphs in major tournaments, while Alcaraz and Sinner “have the advantage that they have marked numbers that serve as a finish line”. To the question of whether Alcaraz could be the best in history, Nadal replied: “Obviously he can. The career seems to be heading towards something unique. Hopefully he can have a very long career, which is what he also needs to reach certain numbers and hopefully injuries will respect him and everything goes great for him.” “He has six (‘grand slams’). It’s an incredible number at his age and hopefully he gets as many as he can,” he added. Train every day with enthusiasm
Nadal recommended to the tennis player from Murcia to “enjoy the moment, which is brilliant, and keep working to achieve goals, improve, train every day with the enthusiasm of being better at something.” “Because even if you are the best in the world, there is always room for improvement in things and that is the daily motivation. Enjoying day to day and then we will see how everything evolves. In life, goals are very important and you have to have them in the short, medium and long term,” he reflected. He partially disagreed with the advice given by Federer to Alcaraz to think about a future of five years. “I don’t see five years as a very short term. Five years is a long time, especially in tennis, where things can change drastically at any moment,” he remarked. For the winner of 14 Roland Garros titles, Alcaraz is having “an impressive career and is a very special player.” “We knew it for years, but it is being confirmed over time. He is improving in what is an impressive career and very happy for him,” he continued. According to the former Majorcan tennis player, Alcaraz helps Spain to continue being “a tennis-referent country in the world” and gives “continuity to an entire era of successes.”