“It will be very complicated for us to stay there until 2023”, Rafael Nadal analyzes what he needs to do to stay on top with Carlos Alcaraz in the rankings
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Rafael Nadal & Carlos Alcaraz
22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal who has recently updated his record of the year-end top-2 finishes with 13 (2 more than Roger Federer with 11) is all set for another great season in 2023. He analyzes how well he will have to perform in each of the tournaments he plays next year as with age; he is planning to play fewer matches next year. Currently, the 36-year-old Spaniard is only behind his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in the rankings.
Rafael Nadal was attending the press conference in Quito, Ecuador, and is on a Latin America tour for playing exhibition events with Norwegian World No.3 Casper Ruud. The Spaniard started on how great to see two Spanish players on top of the tennis world together and how difficult it will be to repeat the same the next year. In his words, “It’s very good that there are two Spanish tennis players at the top of the rankings, but I don’t think it will be a trend. It will be complicated for us to stay there until 2023.”
He continued on the strategy he will have to follow to stay on top despite planning to play fewer matches due to age, As quoted by him “It is very difficult to maintain the level necessary to be at the top for so long. In my case, I only play a few tournaments a year and I could only be there if I reached a very high level in each of them.” (Source: We love Tennis, Translated via Google)
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal have had a remarkable 2022
Carlos Alcaraz became World No. 1 at 19 years, 4 months, and 7 days, displacing Lleyton Hewitt‘s nearly 21-year-old record of being the youngest at 20 years, 8 months, and 26 days. Apart from his maiden Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, Alcaraz collected 4 other titles this year, which include 2 Masters 1000 tournaments.
Despite having had to withdraw from the ATP finals due to an abdomen injury, the youngest world No.1 had one of the greatest ever teenage tennis seasons in Men’s tennis.
Apart from becoming a father for the first, Rafael Nadal has had an incredible season winning two majors, including the redemption in Melbourne after waiting for 13 years. The Australian Open run itself is enough to make the season remarkable for Rafael Nadal and his fans. This was added by a 14th crown in Roland Garros.
However, he had to withdraw from the Wimbledon semi-finals due to an abdomen injury. Nadal’s abdomen tear is still not completely healed, as is clear from the shocking loss to Frances Tiafoe in the Pre-Quarter Final of the US Open. He played the tournament with a changed serving motion to save his abdomen from further tears but didn’t work out quite well.
After 4 consecutive losses, starting with the US Open defeat, the Spaniard was finally back on the winning notes in the final round-robin match of the ATP finals against Casper Ruud. The Tennis world is looking forward to seeing how Rafael Nadal will cope next year with young guns ready to battle it out and, of course, his good old friend Novak Djokovic.
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Vipul Payattuparambil
(552 Articles Published)