31 July 2023 , 10:50
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Carlos Alcaraz has been told he has one key advantage over Rafael Nadal as the 20-year-old continues his preparations ahead of the US Open.
Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in a thrilling final to win Wimbledon this year, confirming his place as World No.1. That was his second Grand Slam title, having won last year's US Open, in what was only his 10th major tournament.
The future for the Spaniard appears to be bright as he looks to follow in the footsteps of Nadal, who became a legend of the sport during his time at the top level. And former World No.4 Kei Nishikori believes Alcaraz has one key advantage over Nadal as he looks to rise to the top.
“One thing I hope to get the chance to do is to play against these great young players like Alcaraz, Rune and Sinner at some point. That’s part of my motivation to try to play for a few more years,” he told ATPTour.com.
“I don’t think we have seen anyone like Alcaraz before. He looks like Rafa but he has more speed. Good defence, unbelievable forehand and he has a good backhand too.”
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Alcaraz is being widely tipped to become the most dominant player of his generation. And former star Jimmy Arias agrees with Nishikori's assessment that the newly-crowned Wimbledon champion has what it takes to surpass the likes of Nadal and Djokovic.
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Carlos Alcaraz has been backed to surpass Rafael Nadal (Mateo Villalba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)“Before the Wimbledon final, a couple people asked me and I said – and this maybe sounds crazy but – he at his best level is better than anybody else. He’s better than Djokovic, Djokovic can’t get to the level that Alcaraz [can],” he told Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast.
“This is the best level I’ve seen – him at his best. It’s so strange for me to say that the greatest player of all time’s peak isn’t as good as this kid who is 20 years old. But you watch Alcaraz and I don’t know how he’s done it so quickly.
"He’s sort of taken the ‘Big Three’ and combined all their strengths and put them into himself. He has sort of the offensive weapons of Federer, he’s got the heart of Nadal from what we’ve seen.
"I mean, how does he serve out the final game at Wimbledon, with playing Djokovic? He made every first serve and Djokovic only missed one return and it still didn’t faze him in any way.”
Alcaraz will be looking to defend his US Open title at Flushing Meadows from the end of August. Nadal won four Grand Slams in New York, with Alcaraz on course to surpass him if he continues his impressive trajectory.