Rafael Nadal has played down his chances of defeating fellow Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz when the pair meet in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.
Despite his glittering CV and wealth of experience, Nadal is predicting that his younger opponent should be the one tipped as the favourite. Alcaraz has enjoyed a meteoric rise in recent months, which has seen him rise into the top 10 in the world rankings at just 19 years old.
Nadal believes the teenager’s ‘momentum’ and ‘physical state of mind’ puts the teenager in a stronger position heading into Friday’s match.
He said: “I think that today, he is better than me and he has a good dynamic, a good momentumI think I am a very realistic person, and that doesn't take me to not believe that I can win or that I can do it.
“But today I think that Alcaraz is in a better physical state of mind, is more fit. I came here without playing. He's younger, so he has that extra energy. I'm clear who, from the beginning, has some kind of advantage in tomorrow's match, but in that regard, I will try to do as much as possible to be competitive.”
The respect between the two is clear to see, with the hotly tipped Alcaraz putting the shoe on the other foot and naming his childhood hero Nadal as the quarter-final favourite, praising the 21-time Grand Slam champion’s remarkable record on clay. He said: “He's one of the best players of the world, and I would say the best player in the world on clay.
“Even though he says that I'm the favourite, that he's not fit enough, that he comes from an injury, you always have to think of Rafa as the favourite because he has already won here five times and all of the things he has achieved on clay. At the end of the day, I'm the new boy, the newcomer, the one that should not have any pressure when playing against one of the best players in history.”
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The Spanish pair have been among the best players on tour this campaign, both having three titles to their name in 2022. In spite of this, Nadal doesn’t see a rivalry between the two, due to the sheer difference in age. “If I had eight or 10 years less,” Nadal responded to questions about the rivalry.
“Perhaps if Carlos had reached 10 years ago this moment, we could be talking about a new potential rivalry, I don't have this kind of rivalries at this stage. My opponents are [Novak] Djokovic, [Roger] Federer, [Andy] Murray in his day. This has been my career and my rivalries."
