Rafael Nadal’s Uncle Touts Carlos Alcaraz for More Grand Slam Success: “He’s Aiming for 22, 23”

Carlos Alcaraz has only Jannik Sinner to contend with for Grand Slam titles.

Rafael Nadal’s Uncle Touts Carlos Alcaraz for More Grand Slam Success: “He’s Aiming for 22, 23”

Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/CARLOS ALCARAZ NEWS)

In Short
  • Miguel Nadal believes Carlos Alcaraz can surpass 20 Grand Slams due to less competition compared to Rafael Nadal's era.
  • Alcaraz has won five of the last nine Grand Slams, indicating his dominance alongside rival Jannik Sinner.
  • Rafael Nadal expressed concerns about the lack of competition in men's tennis, hoping for more challengers to emerge.

Rafael Nadal’s uncle, Miguel Nadal, has argued that Carlos Alcaraz can easily win more than 20 Grand Slams on tour because he’s facing less stiffer competition than what his nephew went up against during his professional days. Nadal won 22 Grand Slams, 14 of which came at the French Open; Alcaraz has won just 7.

Miguel Nadal, a former Barcelona defender who won five La Liga titles and capped 62 times for Spain, is part of a very talented sporting family, to say the least. He’s the brother of Toni Nadal, who coached Rafael Nadal for over a decade during his brilliant career on tour. Nadal retired in November 2024.

During Nadal’s time on tour, he was part of an intriguing rivalry alongside Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. The rivalry was labeled the Big 3 on tour. However, outside that group were some competitors such as Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Marin Cilic, who were big threats on the court.

In contrast to the current day, Alcaraz just has his arch-rival, Jannik Sinner, to contend with on the court. In fact, both players have won the last seven Grand Slams on the court, and things don’t look like they’re changing. Only Djokovic has tried to compete, but his declining age cannot be matched with his on-court passion.

Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev, and Alexander Zverev have already had Grand Slam finals in the last two seasons, but are yet to get anywhere closer to winning a major silverware. During an interview on BetBrothers, Miguel Nadal revealed that it will be easy for Alcaraz to win over 20 Grand Slams because he doesn’t have much competition:

In Rafael’s time there was Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Alexander Zverev, Juan Martin Del Potro, David Ferrer. With all those players you could face them in the quarter-finals or even the first round and they could eliminate you. Today, in Alcaraz’s case, there is a big difference. I don’t see a wide group of players who have options to win a Grand Slam. I think he is a player who will win many Grand Slams. He has the advantage of aiming for 20, 22, 23 Grand Slams.

Rafael Nadal revealed late last year that Sinner and Alcaraz dominating the men’s circuit will not look good in the long run. He argued that what makes the sport enjoyable is the presence of competition and hopes that other younger players challenge them. But this season that’s yet to happen on tour.

Miguel Nadal says Carlos Alcaraz needs minimal consistency to win Grand Slams

Carlos Alcaraz reached the final of three Grand Slams last year and won two of them. At this year’s Australian Open, he claimed his Career Grand Slam after beating Novak Djokovic. For the past two and a half years, he has won five of the nine Grand Slams, which is more than half. His rival Jannik Sinner claimed the other four.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

For the past few weeks, several former players have dubbed Joao Fonseca and Rafael Jodar to challenge the Sinner and Alcaraz, but that’s likely not to happen in the coming months. Miguel Nadal pointed out during the aforementioned interview that even though things look complicated at the moment, Alcaraz needs minimal consistency to win tournaments:

It is very complicated because it requires minimal consistency and mental strength to suffer a not very high wear. I see it as difficult, but it could be possible. He has all the conditions and, apart from the sporting ones, when it comes to competition I don’t see players emerging today who are clear contenders to win a Grand Slam.

With Alcaraz injured, Sinner is the favorite to win the Madrid Open. The Italian star is in the semi-finals of the tournament and will face Arthur Fils. Fils is on a nine-match winning streak, while Sinner is on a 21-match winning run. One of them will have to relinquish their winning runs for the other.

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