Carlos Alcaraz returned to astound everyone after an injury forced him to miss the final stretch of the 2022 season and the Australian Open. He also regained the top spot in the rankings. In addition to his first Grand Slam victory at the US Open, the 19-year-old won his third Masters 1000 tournament at Indian Wells. Comparisons arise unavoidably, and only few of the chosen can claim to have achieved such success at his age. This is acknowledged by Taylor Fritz’s current coach, Paul Annacone, who also coached several legendary athletes in the past, including Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.
The coach noted in a New York Times interview that the tennis star from Murcia and the former Swiss legend share more stylistic similarities than even his own countryman Rafael Nadal.
“I think Alcaraz is much more like Roger than Rafa.Rafa couldn’t get the ball so early and so early on a point when he was 19, Rafa couldn’t get forward on the field like that. Roger was always trying to stay on the baseline and made it look like he always had time to hit the ball, and that’s how you see Carlos as well,” said Annacone.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
WLLWLWWWWW Currently ranked no.1, Carlos played his last match on the 19th of March when he defeated world no.5 Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-2 in the final in Indian Wells to win his 8th career title.
Until now, during this year Carlos has a composed 14-1 win-loss record. Carlos has won 2 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells. The Spaniard was the runner-up in Rio de Janeiro.
Rafael Nadal in 2023
At the moment ranked no.13, Rafael played his last match on the 18th of January when he lost to world no.55 Mackenzie Mcdonald 6-4 6-4 7-5 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open (draw).
Until now, during this year the Spaniard achieved a composed 1-3 win-loss record.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal faced off 3 times. Their head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. The last time they squared off, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in May 2022.
Here are the highlights.
Roger Federer in 2023
Now the world no.97, Roger played his last match on the 7th of July 2021 when he capitulated to world no.9 Hubert Hurkacz 6-3 7-6(4) 6-0 in the quarter in Wimbledon (draw).
Presently, during this year Federer has a 9-4 record.
