Be it hard courts, grass, or clay, the 22-year-old tennis star from Murcia, Spain, has proven his mettle on each and every surface. Carlos Alcaraz made his professional debut in 2018, and within these seven years, he has won four Grand Slam titles. Last year, he became the youngest male player in history to win a major title on three court surfaces, known as a Career Surface Slam. Is Alcaraz the most complete player in the tennis world right now? Well, according to Serena Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci, “He (Carlitos) is the most complete player I have ever seen. Every box is checked from the technical to mental with imagination and inspiration.” He believes Alcaraz is more like a “blend” of the ‘Big 3’ and Andre Agassi. What does his own childhood coach think about this, though?
Well, Carlos Santos was the first coach of Alcaraz from the age of 5 to 12. He has seen his transition from being a rising star to a superstar very closely. According to Santos, Carlos Alcaraz is a more complete player than his legendary compatriot Rafael Nadal! Now, we all know that Alcaraz has idolized Rafa while growing up, but what really brought his childhood coach to jump to this conclusion? In a recent interview with TNT Sports, Santos claimed Alcaraz is “Much more complete..Tennis-wise, technically speaking, he does a lot more things. The drop shot, for example.“
He also added, “Nadal did it well, but this guy [Alcaraz] is a magician. The slice, the volley. Rafa had good shots, very powerful, very spin-heavy, and an exceptional brain, knowing what to do on the court. Carlitos has a different, more magical type of game, one that people love. He runs down every ball, you don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s a magician.” Ever since Alcaraz rose to fame, he has always been drawn into a comparison with Rafael Nadal.
For example, tennis legend, Bjorn Borg, once said, “I believe that Alcaraz will achieve the same or more than Nadal. He has the right mentality and can play on all surfaces. With a bit of luck, he will be the king of tennis.” However, there are some others like Paolo Bertolucci who think, “Alcaraz is sleeveless like Nadal, he plays differently, but he is a thousand miles away from Rafa in his head.“
Paris 2024 Olympics – Tennis – Men’s Doubles First Round – Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France – July 27, 2024. Rafael Nadal of Spain and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during their first round match against Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina and Andres Molteni of Argentina. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel
What does Carlos Alcaraz think of these comparisons? In his documentary series ‘Carlos Alcaraz: My Way’, he has clearly expressed his discomfort with constant comparisons with the Spanish legend. He said, “I don’t want to be called Rafa’s successor. I want to be called Carlos Alcaraz Garfia. When you’re young and they’re constantly comparing you to some professional that’s been on the circuit for many years, there are times you get tired of hearing it.” He believes these things lead to an excess of pressure, which can later make a big impact on his daily life and career. Talking about this documentary, Rafael Nadal recently shared his views on Alcaraz’s Netflix documentary series. What did he say, though?
Rafael Nadal isn’t too pleased with the way Carlos Alcaraz was represented in his documentary
Carlos Alcaraz’s documentary has stirred up quite a few controversies in the last few weeks. For example, after seeing his documentary, his childhood coach, Carlos Santos, said that he deserved more credit for mentoring Alcaraz in his early days. After watching this documentary, Rafael Nadal‘s long-time coach, Carlos Moya, also explained why he thinks Alcaraz’s mentality is a bit wrong. Moya claimed, “Perhaps Alcaraz is demanding something of himself that doesn’t exist. He may be close to perfection at times, but he’s 21. He’s going to improve, he’s going to stabilize, and that will give him time. It’s impossible to win what he (Alcaraz) has won without discipline, without hard work.”
Now, after all the buzz surrounding the documentary, Rafael Nadal also shared his thoughts on the same during his recent interview with L’Equipe. He said, “Knowing Carlos a little, I think the documentary doesn’t reflect his personality or the way he lives his career. He doesn’t come across as a tennis player who trains, but as someone who loves to party, who needs that, and who isn’t very professional – and that’s not true. Carlos is a great professional.“
According to Nadal, this documentary was “misguided” because people’s perception of him is different from what Alcaraz is in real life. Amid all these, both Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are now set to cross paths at Roland Garros. Nadal will receive a tribute for his invaluable contributions to the tournament and also to the sport as a whole (on May 25 at this iconic venue). Whereas, Alcaraz is all set to enter the battlefield with the mission of defending his title at the Roland Garros.
Shortly after winning the Italian Open, he roared, “All eyes are on Paris now, on Roland Garros.” In this tournament, he may face Ben Shelton in the fourth round and the in-form Casper Ruud in the QF. Can he overcome these hurdles and bring home his fifth major title? Share your thoughts in the comment box.
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