Carlos Alcaraz expressed his disappointment at losing out on the exceptional chance to pick Rafael Nadal’s brain at the Laver Cup.
This coming weekend in Berlin, Alcaraz and Nadal were scheduled to compete for Team Europe; however, Nadal withdrew from the competition due to persistent fitness issues.
A lot of people had anticipated that the two would team up once more for doubles play, carrying on the “Nadalcaraz” partnership that sparked excitement at the Paris 2024 Games less than two months prior.
But now that the elder of the two Spaniards is out of the picture, four-time Grand Slam winner acknowledges that he will miss the opportunity to pick his brain even more from his countryman.
Alcaraz expressed his thoughts about it and said: “Rafa is one of the greatest in the history of our sport. For me, he is my idol; he is the one I watched the matches with when I was a child. I have tried to learn as much as I could from him during our time together. I will miss him in Berlin because it was a unique opportunity to continue learning from him.”
He added: “It would have been super special to repeat here in Berlin. When they gave the team and I saw that Rafa was coming, I was really excited to share the locker room with him once again. Here at the Laver Cup, we are all much closer together and it would have been a unique experience. I am going to miss him and I hope he returns to the courts soon when he feels well.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
Now ranked no.3, Alcaraz played his last match on the 13th of September when he beat world no.18 Ugo Humbert 6-3 6-3
in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).Currently, during this season the Spaniard achieved a 41-9 match record. The Spaniard conquered 3 titles in 2024 in Indian Wells, French Open and Wimbledon. Carlos reached the final in Paris.
Carlos Alcaraz will compete against the world no.364 Gabi Adrian Boitan in the . In the past, they have never played each other up to now in top tournaments.
The Spaniard conquered 3 titles in 2024 in Indian Wells, French Open and Wimbledon. Carlos was the runner-up in Paris (Olympics).
Alcaraz won 16 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 8 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 3 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Currently the world no.154, Rafael played his last match on the 29th of July when he was defeated by world no.4 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4 in the 2nd round in Paris (draw).
Presently, during this year Rafael has managed to achieve a compiled 12-7 match record. Rafael Nadal’s most significant achievement of the year was getting to the final in Bastad.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal clashed against each other 3 times. Their record 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 are the highlights.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |