Nadal Retirement
Nadal passes baton to Alcaraz: ‘We have achieved many issues, now it is as much as you to proceed’
The 21-year-old discusses Nadal’s goodbye message
November 20, 2024
Getty Photographs
Carlos Alcaraz displays on Rafael Nadal’s retirement.
By ATPTour.com/es Workers
To have a good time the top of Rafael Nadal‘s historic profession at this week’s Davis Cup Last 8, ATPTour.com is publishing a collection of articles paying tribute to the Spaniard. View our #RafaSiempre collection.
“We’ve achieved so many wonderful issues collectively, now it’s as much as you to proceed doing them.”
As he checked out his teammates from the centre of the court docket, the sincerest phrases spoken by Rafael Nadal at his farewell ceremony on Tuesday had been addressed to the brand new era of expertise. Specifically, one member of that group shall be bidding to keep up and prolong the legacy the Spaniard leaves behind: Carlos Alcaraz.
At 21 years of age, Alcaraz has equalled a lot of his childhood hero’s information for precociousness. He has already been the No. 1 within the PIF ATP Rankings, gained 4 Grand Slam titles and donned an Olympic silver medal.
“For us younger gamers developing, who’ve a few years forward of us, we’ve been fortunate to see the period of Rafa, Federer and Djokovic, though [Novak] continues to be enjoying… that battle between these three gladiators, gamers who aren’t from this planet,” stated Alcaraz.
“However, on the similar time, I’ll additionally say that [Rafa] has left lots of people with the hope of seeing what’s to return. In a manner, if these of us which might be right here, the younger gamers, these developing behind him can not attain that degree, it is going to be seen as irritating or disappointing for the world of tennis.”
Alcaraz has at all times prevented any form of comparability, however the media and tennis followers alike have inevitably pointed to the parallels between Alcaraz and Nadal.
“I’m going to attempt not to have a look at it like that, I’ll merely do my finest day-after-day,” he supplied. “As Rafa stated, he’s ending his profession completely satisfied and glad in figuring out that he gave his all from the beginning till the ultimate day of his profession, and that’s what I’ll attempt to do. I’ll attempt to give my finest, to be the most effective individual and participant I can day-after-day, at each event, yearly.”
Alcaraz was there to see Nadal’s ultimate stretch on the ATP Tour, perhaps not for so long as he would have favored, however on the 2021 Australian Open he practised along with his compatriot for the primary time and some months later he celebrated his 18th birthday along with his first match towards Nadal on the Mutua Madrid Open.
Their Lexus ATP Head2Head features a whole of three matches, all in ATP Masters 1000s; in Madrid (2021, 2022) and Indian Wells (2022). However maybe their most particular reminiscence collectively shall be after they shared the identical facet of the court docket, representing Spain in doubles on the Olympic Video games in Paris 2024.
“I’m fortunate to be near him, to have performed doubles with him, to have practised with him, to have shared a Davis Cup group with him and the locker room in singles tournaments – not as a lot as I might have favored – I want I’d arrived on tour earlier,” Alcaraz stated.
However future has no respect for ones needs, and so it was that on the evening of Tuesday 19 November Nadal definitively relinquished his crown and Alcaraz took the baton, however not with no caveat.
“We’ll see on the finish of my profession, but when it’s half of what he’s accomplished I’ll be very happy,” Alcaraz stated. “’m going to attempt to entertain folks and go away a great legacy day-after-day. It’s going to be very powerful to comply with what these giants have accomplished.”
