Carlos Alcaraz, who is currently the number two tennis player in the world, recently said that he would like to play his fellow Spanish player Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, has had his fair share of injury problems over the course of his career. His recent hip injury forced him to miss the Madrid Open, which is currently going on.
The great tennis player hurt himself in Australia earlier this year, and since then he has had to miss a number of big events.
The 36-year-old Spaniard has already missed big tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona.
At 19 years, 4 months, and 6 days old, Alcaraz is the youngest man to top the singles rankings. He will turn 20 tomorrow. He is also the first youngster to be at the top of the men’s rankings in the Open Era.
Even though he has won on clay in Barcelona and Buenos Aires, making him a favourite for Roland Garros, Alcaraz said that Nadal should not be written off and wished the veteran player a speedy return.
Alcaraz told reporters that he hopes Alexander Zverev will be in Rome and then at Roland Garros, where he will be a tough opponent to beat. This was after he beat Zverev 6-1, 6-2, on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals in Madrid.
“Even though he hasn’t played since Australia, a man who has won a tournament 14 times will always be hard to beat in that tournament, even if he comes without match flow. It will also be hard for him, because tennis needs a rhythm of matches, but Rafa is Rafa, and even if he doesn’t have many matches when he gets there, he’ll show an amazing level,” Alcaraz said.
The young Spaniard was glad to hear that Nadal was coming back because he wants to keep learning from the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
Alcaraz said, “I say this as a player and a tennis fan.” “It’s too bad that we haven’t been able to see him in tournaments for the past few months.”
It is important to remember that Alcaraz and Nadal have played three times, and Nadal has won twice against Alcaraz.
The last time Alcaraz and Nadal played each other, Alcaraz won 6-2, 1-6, and 6-3.