Carlos Alcaraz admits he was 'so scared' when he first played Rafael Nadal in Madrid
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Updated 24/04/2024 at 11:20 GMT
Carlos Alcaraz is seen as the natural successor to Rafael Nadal on clay, the two Spaniards both having grown up on the red stuff and having plenty in common from their meteoric rises to the top of the men's game as teenagers. Ahead of Alcaraz's opening match in Madrid, as he gets set to defend his title, the 20-year-old has been reminiscing about the first time the two greats met.
'Honestly was so scared' - Alcaraz on meeting Nadal for first time
Carlos Alcaraz admits he was "so scared" to play Rafael Nadal when the pair first went head-to-head in 2021.
The 20-year-old spoke to the press ahead of the Madrid Masters, with the Spaniard set to play for the first time since Miami after being sidelined with a forearm injury.
While he gets set to finally get his clay court season under way, Alcaraz also wanted to turn back the clock on a tournament where he has an eventful history.
It was here in Madrid that the generations first clashed, Alcaraz playing his hero and fellow countryman Nadal on the clay three years ago. Nadal emerged a fairly comprehensive 6-1 6-2 winner, with the moment getting to his opponent – who was celebrating his 18th birthday that very day.
“It’s difficult, honestly it’s so difficult to face him. The first time in 2021 I honestly was so scared, I’m not going to lie,” Alcaraz recalled.
“I couldn’t play – his presence, that atmosphere, you feel it’s unbelievable, it’s difficult.”
The two met again the following year in Indian Wells, with that match going to three sets before Alcaraz finally tasted victory against the King of Clay back in Madrid the following year, grinding out a famous win in three sets.
“The next time we learned a lot just how to deal with that situation, we are tennis players, we learned a lot and you want to be the best you know," Alcaraz continued.
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Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal attend The Netflix Slam at Michelob ULTRA Arena on March 03, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Image credit: Getty Images
“The next time I faced him I didn’t feel as scared, I just wanted to beat him and just wanted to go for it and that’s all you have to think about it but I’m not going to lie, it is difficult.”
Alcaraz returns to Madrid this week as a two-time winner and where he really announced himself to the world as a future Grand Slam champion when he beat Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in consecutive matches in 2022 – all three ranked in the top four of the world at the time.
Since then, the Spaniard has gone on to lift two Grand Slam trophies at the US Open and Wimbledon, but whether he can make a tilt at a third at Roland-Garros next month remains to be seen.
He had to miss the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open with an arm injury, with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud profiting respectively.
Factor in Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, not to mention Nadal himself, and it looks like being one of the most open Roland-Garros fields in recent memory.
But first up for Alcaraz will be to find his feet on the clay courts of Madrid, as he begins to try and defend his title here, before turning his attention to Rome and then the French Open. He has a first round bye, and will play either Alexander Shevchenko or Arthur Rinderknech in the second round.
As for another potential match up against Nadal, that would have to wait until the final with the duo drawn on opposite sides of the draw.
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