Toni Nadal Believes Ben Shelton Would’ve Become One of Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘Biggest Rivals’ Had He Won US Open

Carlos Alcaraz failed to defend his title at the US Open as he lost a five-set thriller to Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals. This marked the first time the Spaniard lost to the American after three consecutive victories.

Alcaraz was bidding to reach the final at Flushing Meadows for the third time in his career, having won the title here in 2022 by beating Casper Ruud and last year by beating Jannik Sinner. It was his first tournament since the Barcelona Open, where he injured his wrist and was forced to stay on the sidelines for four months.

After the US Open, Rafael Nadal‘s uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal, said that had Shelton won the US Open, he would have become one of the biggest rivals of the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

We now know that the German player won this year’s US Open, but if the young American had triumphed, the same thing would likely have happened. Given his age, only a year older than Carlos, he would have become one of his biggest rivals, a rivalry that would presumably have continued throughout both of their careers. Since this hasn’t happened, for now, it remains mere speculation, but it’s easy to assume he’ll have new opportunities that don’t allow us to dismiss our hypothesis.

Toni Nadal wrote in his column for El Pais

Shelton lost a final for the first time this season. Before his home Grand Slam tournament, Shelton won the Dallas Open and the Stuttgart Open by defeating compatriot Taylor Fritz, then lifted the Munich Open by beating French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, and the Canadian Open against compatriot Brandon Nakashima.

Patrick Mouratoglou reacts to claims that Alexander Zverev wouldn’t have won two Majors had he faced Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

There have been discussions about what would have happened had both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner competed in all four Majors. Many believe Alexander Zverev wouldn’t have won the two Majors in that case, as he trails 6-7 in the head-to-head matchups versus Alcaraz, while against Sinner, he trails 4-11, also losing their last 10 matches.

But Patrick Mouratoglou doesn’t agree. In a LinkedIn post, Serena Williams‘ former coach compared the German to three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, and also lauded him for seizing the golden opportunity to win those titles.

Zverev was already beating them in Masters 1000 events at twenty. He won his first Grand Slam at twenty-nine. Nine years. I have no idea how many times he hit the wall in between. Then a final. Then a second title. It reminds me of Stan Wawrinka: same generation, first Slam at twenty-nine, then a second, then a third.

Zverev also reached the Wimbledon final, losing to Sinner. Before this season, he had made three Grand Slam finals in three different seasons (2020 US Open, 2024 French Open, and the 2025 Australian Open).

Some will say he beat neither Alcaraz nor Sinner. True. When an opportunity appears, the players who keep working and keep believing are the ones who take it. Plenty of others could have won those two titles. He is the one who did. Zverev also said that when Sinner comes back, he will still be the best player in the world.

Patrick Mouratoglou added

Sinner has won the most titles on the men’s tour this season, having lifted six trophies, all in high-profile events. He first lifted five consecutive Masters 1000 titles, then suffered a shock second-round upset at the French Open, before beating Zverev in the Wimbledon final.

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