Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal believes there is no reason why Carlos Alcaraz can’t become one of the most decorated Grand Slam champions of all time if he stays injury-free.
Nadal, who won 22 major titles himself, believes the world No.1 is capable of matching his tally in the future. Alcaraz currently has six major titles to his name after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open twice. In January, he has a shot of achieving a career slam before his 23rd birthday at the Australian Open. An event where he has yet to go beyond the quarter-finals.
The king of clay locked horns with Alcaraz three times between 2021 and 2022, winning two of those encounters. He lost their last meeting at the 2022 Madrid Open before retiring from the sport two years later.
“I don’t tend to have high expectations, I’ve always seen him as very good, with the potential to make history in our sport,” Nadal said of Alcaraz during an interview with El Larguero.
“22 Grand Slams? Why not? Six is already a lot and he has a spectacular trajectory.
“The most important thing is that he doesn’t get injured. If you don’t have injuries, I think you also don’t lose confidence in your body and that keeps you improving.”
In the Open Era, only five men have managed to win 10 or more major titles, with the record currently held by Novak Djokovic, who has 24 to his name. Alcaraz is already second on the all-time list for most Grand Slam singles titles won by a Spanish player (male or female).
As for the current state of men’s tennis, Nadal believes a player needs to step up and challenge the dominance of both Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The duo currently occupy the top two places in the PIF ATP rankings and has won the last eight major events between them.
“I watch some tennis matches, the ones I feel like watching. I think Sinner and Alcaraz need someone to push them,” he said.
“(Joao) Fonseca? I think he’s still young and not in a position to think about that.
“They need someone to push them a bit because they’ve set themselves apart from everyone else and in any form they can beat anyone, until they come up against that other player. Those of us watching from the outside have the feeling that even if they play badly, they’re going to keep winning and reaching all the finals.”
After struggling with injuries throughout most of his career, Nadal has rarely played tennis so far in his retirement. His only experience of playing was a couple of weeks ago at his academy when he held a 90-minute hitting session with two female members.
“I’d like to play once a week from now on so I don’t have to start from scratch if I ever want to play again. I have some aches and pains, obviously, but by taking a lot of breaks, things are easing up.” He concluded.
Earlier this week, Nadal was presented with the AS Legend Award in recognition of his contribution to tennis. The annual awards are run by the Spanish daily sports newspaper Diario AS.
