Carlos Alcaraz, a rising tennis star from Spain, stated that it is annoying to always be compared to Rafael Nadal.
The 20-year-old rose to fame after winning Wimbledon earlier this year, defeating the current world no. 1 Novak Djokovic. Because he joined Nadal Academy, Alcaraz has frequently been compared with his fellow national.
During a Q&A session with the audience, Alcaraz acknowledged that being compared to such a renowned player is starting to annoy him. He said: “It’s not annoying, but I would say the comparison with Rafa is annoying.”
With 22 Grand Slam titles under his name, Nadal is frequently referred to as one of the all-time greats. Alcaraz, on the other hand, is an upcoming star who has only won two Grand Slams.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
At the moment ranked no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 8th of September when he lost to world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the semifinal of the U.S. Open (draw).
Presently, during this year the Spaniard has managed to achieve an overall 58-7 match record. Alcaraz clinched 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. The Spaniard was the finalist in Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati.
Alcaraz will compete next in Beijing (China Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of September.
Rafael Nadal in 2023
Ranked no.237, the Spaniard played his last match on the 18th of January when he capitulated to world no.39 Mackenzie Mcdonald 6-4 6-4 7-5 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open (draw).
This season the Spaniard owns a composed 1-3 match record.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal fought against each other 3 times. Their actual record is 2-1 for Nadal. Previously, the last time they played each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in May 2022.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal |
Embed from Getty Images |