“Worse than him at his age,” Rafael Nadal minces no words in self-criticism as he lauds Carlos Alcaraz with praise and encouragement

Rafael Nadal also praised Alcaraz for his elite mentality.


“Worse than him at his age,” Rafael Nadal minces no words in self-criticism as he lauds Carlos Alcaraz with praise and encouragement

Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal (Images via Imago)

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal has heaped massive praise on Carlos Alcaraz for his maturity as a player. Nadal took the self-criticism route to prove how Alcaraz is a much better player as compared to his old self. The 22-time Grand Slam champion also heaped praise on Alcaraz for his elite mentality.

Nadal said that Alcaraz is a complete player as he has everything sorted while he (Nadal), at his age, was still figuring out how to improve his tennis.

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Nadal said that he had everything worse than Alcaraz while the 20-year-old thinks about playing against the best in the final.

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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 his age. He has things very clear, from what I read at the press conference.
Rafael Nadal said in his interview with La Sexta.

Rafael Nadal feels Carlos Alcaraz will have an incredible career

Rafael Nadal heaped praise on Carlos Alcaraz’s elite mentality as he claimed that he would have never thought about facing the best player in the final. The 37-year-old said that Alcaraz is ambitious and it will help him build an incredible career.

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz (Via Tennis.com)
He has a lot of ambition. At his age I would never have thought of something like wanting to face the best in the final. I think he has all the ingredients to have an incredible career.
Rafael Nadal said.

Notably, Carlos Alcaraz has achieved quite a few things too young. The 20-year-old has won two Grand Slam titles, one of which came after defeating Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard has also achieved World No.1 ranking. Alcaraz is the second-ranked player in the world currently and is preparing to make a befitting comeback after a heartbreak at the 2024 Australian Open.

The 20-year-old will be partnering with Nadal for an exhibition event in Las Vegas before starting his preparations for the Indian Wells. Alcaraz is also expected to join the 37-year-old at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It is to be seen how the Spanish duo fares at the prestigious event.

Talking about their head-to-head record, Nadal leads it 2-1. However, the youngster has troubled Nadal. The last time they met at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz beat the 22-time Grand Slam champion in three sets.

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