The world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz agreed to defend his title in Barcelona. The tournament will start on the 17th of April. Rafael Nadal will be his top contender after the Spanish sensation won this tournament 12 times.
The tournament director and tennis legend David Ferrer revealed that Carlito was the first player to confirm his participation in the tournament in Catalunya. “Alcaraz is the first player to have confirmed his participation for the next edition of the tournament,” was stated.
David added: “Carlos Alcaraz is a unique player, with a lot of charisma and who also has fun on the court,” said tournament director David Ferrer in a statement. We are talking about a world No 1 who has been the youngest player in history to achieve it.
He still has a whole career ahead of him to keep improving and growing as a player. He will be the great dominator of the circuit for the next 10 years, without a doubt.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2022
Currently the world no.1, the Spaniard played his last match on the 4th of November when he had to retire when playing against world no.11 Holger Rune in the quarter and the scoreline was 6-3 6-6 .
Currently, during this season Carlos has managed to achieve an overall 57-13 win-loss record. The Spaniard has won 5 titles in 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona, Madrid and U.S. Open. Alcaraz was the finalist in Hamburg and Umag.
Rafael Nadal in 2022
Ranked no.2, Rafael played his last match on the 17th of November when he overcame world no.3 Casper Ruud 7-5 7-5 in the round robin in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
Currently, during this year Rafael owns a 39-8 win-loss record. The Spaniard has won 4 titles in 2022 in Melbourne, Australian Open, Acapulco and French Open. Nadal was the runner-up in Indian Wells.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal squared off 3 times. Their current head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. The last time they fought against each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) on the 6th of May 2022.
Here are the highlights.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |