"Playing against Rafael Nadal is always imposing, no matter where" - Carlos Alcaraz on possibility of facing Spaniard at French Open 2024
World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz recently opened up on the possibility of facing Rafael Nadal at the French Open. He further discussed his mindset while facing the 37-year-old.
In their respective careers, Nadal and Alcaraz have crossed paths on three occasions. Although the 37-year-old prevailed twice, Alcaraz stood triumphant in their last encounter at the 2022 Madrid Open.
Nadal is going to start his Roland Garros campaign against Alexander Zverev on May 26. Alcaraz, meanwhile, will also appear at the French Open and was recently spotted practicing with Luca Van Assche.
Ahead of the clay court Slam, Alcaraz lavished praise on 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. He said that playing against Nadal is always imposing. Alcaraz also stated his mindset before facing Nadal in any situation.
"Obviously playing against Rafa is always imposing, no matter where, in what tournament or in what situation, because of the legend he is in our sport. But it is true that what he transmits when he is at Roland Garros gives you extra respect both to me and to any other player. If I play against him, I would try to take it like any other game," Alcaraz told Marca (translated to English).
Alcaraz has only won the Indian Wells Masters this season. The Spaniard reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, the Miami Open, and the Madrid Open.
The 21-year-old couldn't display his best form due to injury concerns. He missed the Italian Open due to muscle edema in his pronator teres. Although his European clay court swing was halted this season, he will look to add the first French Open trophy of his career to his cabinet.
"I think he will win Roland Garros at least once" - Juan Carlos Ferrero on Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero believes that despite Alcaraz's natural affinity for hard courts, he could win the French Open at least once.
“Right now I think that the surface that best suits his tennis is the hard court. Carlos has developed on this type of court, although we cannot believe that clay courts were where he was born. I think he will win Roland Garros at least once, he has the game to achieve it," Ferrero said, via Punto de Break (translated from Spanish).
Ferrero admired Alcaraz's ambition and mindset of thinking big. He considered it as the best option to be the greatest.
“What I like most is that he always thinks big, not just small. To be one of the best players of all time you have to think big, there is no other option. We know that it will be very difficult to beat certain records, but we are here to try, to try to do the best we can," Ferrero concluded.
Carlos Alcaraz had a decent campaign at the French Open last year. He defeated the likes of Flavio Cobolli, Taro Daniel, Danis Shapovalov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the semifinals. However, his campaign was halted by the eventual champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.