"I don't have this kind of rivalries at this stage, my opponents are Djokovic, Federer, Murray in his day" - Rafael Nadal on possible rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz
Rafael Nadal believes that at this stage of his career he can no longer have legendary rivalries like he has had with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray.
Speaking to the media after his win over David Goffin at the Madrid Masters, the Mallorcan was asked if he senses a growing rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, who (during the time of the interview) could be his quarterfinal opponent. Alcaraz ended up beating Cameron Norrie and will face the Mallorcan in the last eight on Friday.
Nadal shot down that notion, pointing out that he cannot be part of a rivalry given he does not have too much time left on the tour and belongs to a different era.
"No, no, no. I don't think I will reach that rivalry. I'm 36 years old," said the Spaniard.
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Upon being probed further about the matter, the 21-time Major champion explained that it is natural for newer stars such as Alcaraz to emerge in the sport.
"I don't know. It's natural. At the end of the day it's a new generation. It's happen during all history," Nadal said. "The history repeat it, and thank God it's good that someone like Carlos has reached this level to be able to maintain our tennistic level as high as possible for the next hopefully a lot of years."
The Mallorcan believes that his countryman can dominate tennis for well over a decade.
"As a supporter of tennis and sportsperson, I think it's great to have a player like Carlos that has been able to reach this level and this strength," he added. "I think he's a player that's going to give us a lot of good moments in the next, I don't know, 10, 12 years, 14. This is reality I'm talking about."
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Shifting his focus to a possible rivalry with the teenager, Nadal explained that he could have considered the idea if he was many years younger.
"Talking about rivalry, well, I don't know. If I had 8 or 10 years less, perhaps if Carlos had reached 10 years ago this moment, we could be talking about a new potential rivalry," said the Spaniard. "I think that at this moment he's going to be someone that is going to win a lot of things, in my opinion, or at least he's going to have a lot of options to achieve good things."
Nadal asserted that his main rivals are still Djokovic, Federer, and Murray.
"Talking about me, I don't have this kind of rivalries at this stage. My opponents are Djokovic, Federer, Murray in his day," he said. "This has been my career and my rivalries."
"I think that today, he is better than me and he has a good dynamic, a good momentum" - Rafael Nadal on Carlos Alcaraz
During the press conference, Nadal was also asked about his expectations regarding a potential clash against a player of Alcaraz's quality.
The 35-year-old admitted that the match would be difficult given the teenager's supreme form and physicality.
"Well, it's a very, very tough match, of course. I think that today, he is better than me and he has a good dynamic, a good momentum," said Nadal. "I am conscious on what we have right now. I 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."
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