The unprecedented rise of Carlos Alcaraz in men’s tennis could also be ‘sensational’ for former world No.1 Rafael Nadal, according to Alex Corretja.
18-year-old Alcaraz shot to the limelight on Sunday when he became the youngest player in history to win the Miami Open and the third-youngest to ever win a Masters 1000 title. At the tournament he scored wins over Marin Cilic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud. The triumph comes during what has been a stellar start to the season for the Spaniard who also became the youngest player in history to win an ATP 500 event in Rio. He has now recorded a total of seven wins over top 10 players.
Billed as a future world No.1 in the sport, the world No.11 is likely to take over one day from his idol Nadal as the leader in Spanish tennis. Although with Nadal currently having no intention of stepping away from the spot anytime soon, one former Grand Slam finalist believes his younger compatriot will drive him to work harder on the Tour.
Alex Corretja, who reached a ranking high of No.2 in 1999, believes the two players will motivate each other to improve their games further. Even though there is a 17-year gap between them.
“I think it is just perfect, it is sensational for Rafa because he is the biggest champion that we have ever had,” Corretja told Eurosport.
“Now he has a new kid that he knows what is going on in his mind, and Rafa will need to go to the limit to pass him and to beat him.
“This is perfect for him because it will lead Rafa to still improve his game. He will find ways to beat Alcaraz because he played against him in Indian Wells and suffered so much. He knows that he needs to play at his best to beat him.
“He is much older, but he has got much more experience. He is the best ever, especially on clay, but facing Carlos will be a big challenge for him.”
Nadal first played Alcaraz on the Tour last year at the Madrid Open where he dropped just three games in their match. However, in their latest meeting at Indian Wells it was evident how much the teenager has improved in such a short period of time. Nadal prevailed once again but was given a stern test during his 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, win. After their clash, the 21-time Grand Slam champion said his opponent was ‘already a top player’ and he treated the match as if he was ‘playing against one of the best players in the world.’
“I think it is very good for him because he is going to be motivated to practise and to improve things to see how he can hurt Alcaraz or the other opponents,” Corretja said of Nadal.
“Being Spanish and both being great guys, both being very humble; and at the same time, seeing that the attention is with Rafa, but now he is sharing it with Alcaraz, I think he is going to enjoy it so much.
“Because Rafa is not jealous of Alcaraz. He knows that Alcaraz is great, but he still has so long to go in his career, and of course, one day hopefully Alcaraz will be close to Rafa.
“But, for the moment, he is only starting. So let’s go step-by-step, but this is huge for tennis, for Spanish tennis and overall for tennis itself. It is the best news we can have.”
The next test for the Spanish duo will be on the European clay which is a surface they both relish. Especially Nadal who has won more ATP clay-court titles than any other player in history. However, he has suffered a blip in recent times after being sidelined from the Tour for a few weeks due to a rib injury. Meanwhile, Alcaraz is set to return to training later this week ahead of Monte Carlo.
Only time will tell how good Alcaraz will be in the sport but Corretja has made a bold prediction by claiming he could be a threat at the upcoming French Open. He has only played in the main draw of a major five times in his career so far with his best run being to the quarter-finals of the US Open last year.
“He has got a real shot of winning Roland Garros, for sure. He is going to be among the top three-four players to win the tournament,” he states.
“We need to see how the clay-court season goes, but definitely, right now, nobody likes to play against him, for sure, because you know that you will suffer. You see a guy that is flying on the court, he hits the ball hard, he defends well, and of course, you see that he is going to fight until the end.
“He has proved that his emotions… he is controlling them very well. Even if it’s a tie-break in the third [set], in very close moments, he knows how to deal with that. He is acting like he has lots of experience, but he is still very young. So that shows that he is very smart, very clever. He is very professional.”
Since the Australian Open, Alcaraz has won 16 out of 17 matches played with his only loss being to Nadal in Indian Wells.
