Rafael Nadal reveals why Alcaraz and Rune have more chances to stay dominant than Medvedev and Zverev
World No 2 Rafael Nadal revealed his thoughts about the younger generation of players and their chances to dominate the sport as the Big 3.
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Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal - FirstSportz
It has been a fabulous year for World No 2 Rafael Nadal as he clinched two Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of the greatest athletes of all time who has dominated the sport over the last two decades. His list of accolades and achievements needs no introduction. The Spaniard appreciated the younger generation of players, especially Carlos Alcaraz while calling him a very special player.
The 36-year-old was on the verge of achieving a calendar slam. But his untimely abdominal injury during Wimbledon hindered his momentum. Due to this, he failed to dominate the second half when compared to the first half of the year. He was undefeated in the Grand Slams until his fourth-round defeat at the US Open. Rafael Nadal lost four of his last five matches. He hoped to win the Year-end Championship but failed to go past the group stage.
He opened up about his thoughts if the new generation has less vertigo to success. Nadal heaped praises on Carlos Alcaraz and claimed that the 19-year-old Spaniard will define a new era in the coming years. He is hopeful that they will be better than the Big 3. The 36-year-old admitted that the new generation of players will dominate the sport because he and Djokovic play fewer tournaments while Federer is already retired.
“No, I don’t think so. Let’s see, in any case, they will be better, if we can analyze it in this way because Carlos (Alcaraz) is very special and is a player that I think is going to define an era. I also say with total humility, and we must not lose sight of this, that when Zverev, Medvedev, or Tsitsipas arrived Federer, Djokovic, and I were still at a very high level. Athletes also feedback on victories and for many years our rivals have been able to win very little and when you win, you improve. So these new generations have more chances than other rivals had at the time because now, beyond Roger’s retirement, Novak and I play fewer and fewer tournaments,” said Rafael Nadal during an interview with MARCA.
Continuing his train of thoughts, he added “In short, the new players, besides being very good, are able to visualize victory as the previous players could not, and that helps them a lot to improve. I will give the example of David Ferrer, who was an incredible player but he ran into us many times in very advanced rounds. He is one of the most consistent players ever, but he never won a major.”
Rafael Nadal talks about his retirement
The 22-time Grand Slam champion unlocked a new record by staying in the Top 10 for 900 consecutive weeks. Rafael Nadal is the first player to achieve this feat in the Open Era. He entered the Top 10 as an 18-year-old in 2005. Despite injuries being one of the main areas of concern in recent times, he has maintained his dominance. Moreover, it is also the longest Top 10 streak in the ATP rankings history. Jimmy Connors stands 2nd while Roger Federer stands 3rd.
He won the ‘Fans Favorite’ at the 2022 ATP Awards. His retirement has been one of the discussed topics in recent times because of his constant injuries. But the Spaniard reprimanded all the claims. He claimed of having no fears while being obsessed with competing. He admitted that he has always been happy also outside of tennis.
The Mallorcan will kickstart his 2023 campaign with his participation in the United Cup. He will lead the Spanish team at the mixed-gender competition that is scheduled to start on 29th December. He is likely to play a few matches before he plays the 2023 Australian Open as the defending champion. Nadal has to defend 2250 points and will look to make the best of starts in his bid to retain the majority of the points.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)