Spanish teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz has admitted he wasn’t in favour of copying Rafa Nadal’s famous trophy celebration, but was encouraged after he won the Madrid Open final.
Alcaraz – who made history after becoming the first player ever to down Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the same clay court tournament – rose to a career-high ranking of World No.6 after his fourth ATP title of the year.
The Spaniard won just his second ATP Masters 1000, in the space of just a few weeks, and is already settling as one of the firm favourites for Roland Garros.
But amidst the excitement and celebration of just his second major tournament win, tennis fans noticed the young Spaniard followed in Nadal’s footsteps of biting the trophy during the photo opportunity.
Nadal has been photographed countless times biting the trophy throughout his career.
And Alcaraz has admitted it wasn’t his intention to follow in his countryman’s footsteps, but was asked to by the photographers.
“I didn’t want to bite the trophy, but the photographers told me to bite it (like Nadal),” he said to Spanish publication Marca.
“It was a thing of the photographers and I, although I didn’t want to, listened to them.”
Regardless, Alcaraz was warmly received when he returned home with his trophy.
The Spaniard said he would take the Italian Open, in Rome, off to prepare for Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic on Carlos Alcaraz’s form
Alcaraz continued to light up the tennis world in 2022 after winning his second ATP 1000 event last week in Madrid.
He also became the first person to defeat Djokovic and Nadal on clay at the same tournament, which is remarkable considering he is only 19 years old.
And Djokovic praised the teenager for his recent form leading into Roland Garros.
