Rafa Nadal has urged the tennis world to stop comparing himself to 19-year-old rising phenom Carlos Alcaraz during the early stages of his burgeoning career.
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 in Madrid.
The young Spaniard continues to draw comparisons with his icon, Nadal, and is set to become a real threat at Roland Garros this year.
Fans even noticed Alcaraz mimicked Nadal’s trophy celebration after the Madrid Open, before he revealed the reason behind the imitation.
However, Nadal has now admitted it is unfair to compare the 19-year-old’s flourishing career to his own.
Nadal has been asked many times, since Alcaraz’s first ATP 1000 win at the Miami Open, about how similar the duo’s trajectories appeared when he was the same age.
But the 21-time grand slam champion appeared tired of the questions and urged the tennis world to allow Alcaraz to forge his own path without ridiculous comparisons.
“I do not know. And I won’t be able to talk every day about who will be or who is stronger that day, will I? I forgot what I was like,” Nadal said when asked to compare himself to Alcaraz at 19.
“The only thing we can do is enjoy the career of an extraordinary player like Carlos. But stop comparing him to me.
