Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Alexander Zverev on Sunday to win his first French Open championship, stated that it appears hard to match the achievements of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The 21-year-old overcame challenges to win his third Grand Slam match, triumphing 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. With his triumph, Alcaraz became the youngest person to win a Slam title on a hard, grass, or clay court.
Alcaraz expressed his thoughts about it and said: “Both things are out of the ordinary. You have to be an alien to get it. What Rafa did with 14 is practically impossible. I hope to but it is almost impossible. Both things are out of the ordinary.”
He further added: “Before facing this final, he (coach Juan Carlos Ferrero) told me, you’re going to fight for your third Grand Slam title, with everything you have been through, and you know the difficult part of winning a Grand Slam, and Djokovic has 24. So it is unbelievable. Right now, I can’t think about it.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
Ranked world no.2, Carlos played his last match on the 9th of June when he overcame world no.4 Alexander Zverev 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2 in the final of the French Open to win his 15th career title.
This season Alcaraz has achieved a 25-5 record. Alcaraz conquered 2 titles in 2024 in Indian Wells and French Open.
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Currently ranked no.264, Nadal played his last match on the 27th of May when he was overcome by world no.4 Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 in the 1st round of the French Open (draw).
At present, during this year Rafael has a compiled 7-5 record.
Nadal will play next at the Wimbledon (Wimbledon). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 1st of July.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal faced off 3 times. Their head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. Previously, 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) in May 2022.
Here the video highlights.
Novak Djokovic in 2024
At the moment ranked no.3, Djokovic played his last match on the 3rd of June when he beat world no.27 Francisco Cerundolo 6-1 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the 4th round in the French Open (draw).
Until now, during this year Djokovic has a 18-6 match record. Novak Djokovic’s most significant achievement of the current season was reaching the semifinal at the Australian Open, Monte Carlo and Geneva.