I don’t see a lot of players that…: Rafael Nadal makes huge Carlos Alcaraz prediction

Rafael Nadal says Carlos Alcaraz “is going to be one of the best in history” with the tennis great predicting “amazing things” for his fellow Spaniard.

22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal is considered one of the all-time tennis greats and he is convinced that his young compatriot will be joining that list when all is said and done.

Alcaraz became a four-time Grand Slam winner on Sunday with a crushing defeat of 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.

In a repeat of the 2023 showpiece match at the grass-court major that went to five sets, many expected another tight battle on Centre Court, but the Spaniard successfully defended his title as he produced a commanding display from start to finish with a straight-set win.

A month earlier Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete the Surface Slam when he won his first French Open title and on Sunday he became only the sixth player to win the Channel Slam (Roland Garros and Wimbledon) in the same year.

He is also one of only nine players to successfully defend their Wimbledon title and Nadal is one of many who feel he will become an all-time great.
“My impression is we are talking about a player that is going to be one of the best [in] history. That’s my feeling,” the former world No 1 said.

[He is] a player with huge potential. Life can change quick, that’s the truth. You never know what can happen in the future. But today if we have to predict what’s going on in his career, we predict amazing things.”

Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been the dominated forces on the ATP Tour over the past few months as the Italian won his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open at the start of the year and also rose to No 1 in the ATP Rankings.

Sinner has been one of the few players who have been able to match Alcaraz although the Spaniard has won both their encounters this year as he claimed victory in the semi-final in Indian Wells and the last four at Roland Garros.
Nadal sees Sinner as Alcaraz’s only big challenger.

“His level of tennis is super high. If he is able to stay away from injuries, of course Sinner is there. But I see him with Sinner over the rest today without a doubt,” he said.

“I don’t see a lot of players that can stop him on Tour and I think the best thing that he has today is in every tournament that he plays, doesn’t matter the surface, he is going to be the favourite.”