Striking parallels with Nadal
Spain marvels at the new tennis phenomenon
4/4/2022 2:51 p.m
Carlos Alcaraz is the new attraction of the tennis world. The 18-year-old’s triumph in Miami is amazing, but no longer a sensation. His career is strongly reminiscent of Rafael Nadal’s role model. But as cool as he is on the pitch, a call after the triumph makes him nervous.
When the cell phone suddenly rang after his historic coup in Miami, tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz’s fingers began to tremble. It was the king’s turn – Felipe VI. of Spain himself congratulated the 18-year-old on an impressive Masters triumph that has caused an uproar on the scene.
“It’s pretty great to get a call from the King of Spain. I was more nervous than in the match,” said Alcaraz beaming, who beat Norway’s Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4 in the final: “I would never have expected.” The royal head of state of the Iberians will have saved the number, because for Alcaraz it should only be the beginning of a possibly important trophy collection.
Only the American Michael Chang (Toronto 1990) and his role model Rafael Nadal (Monte Carlo 2005) were a little younger when they won their first Masters titles than the athlete from Murcia, who accomplished his feat at exactly 18 years and 333 days. He replaced a certain Novak Djokovic as the youngest Miami champion – the world number one from Serbia won the title in 2007 at the age of 19. “Congratulations Carlitos on your historic win in Miami,” Nadal wrote on Twitter. Surely many would follow.
Tender comparisons with the great role model
Alcaraz, who has already outgrown the status of a child prodigy and has climbed to eleventh in the world rankings, has always been compared to the Grand Slam record champion from the island of Mallorca. And there are obvious parallels that go beyond the country of origin. The muscular body even as a young professional, the enormous fighting spirit and the unconditional will to win are reminiscent of Nadal, whom he narrowly lost in the semifinals at Indian Wells. “I’ve always looked up to Rafa, I’ve always seen his big moments and games and learned a lot from them,” said Alcaraz.
The powerful right-hander doesn’t want to be the “next Nadal”. His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who flew to the final in Miami after the death of his father and hugged his protégé with emotion, “doesn’t like it when I’m compared to Rafa,” said Alcaraz recently. He wants to go his own way and has developed his own variable style of play, with which he already collected the title at the 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro this spring. He is the youngest champion in the category since it was introduced in 2009.
With the clay court season now beginning, Alcaraz has arrived at the top of the world and another strong competitor for German number one Alexander Zverev on the hunt for a Grand Slam triumph – already at the French Open from May 22nd. Also because he always remembers his grandfather’s advice in the crucial phases of the matches. Cabeza, corazon, cojones – head, heart, balls, that’s what matters. “This motto accompanies me,” said Alcaraz.