Rafael Nadal has refuted comparisons with Carlos Alcaraz for one reason. He said that they don't compare when they were both at the age Alcaraz is at now.
Nadal won't return after all at the Qatar Open next week with the Spanish legend deciding against playing now until Indian Wells. Before that, he faces Alcaraz in a Las Vegas exhibition. But for Nadal, he has spent the past few years being compared and vice versa to Alcaraz.
Some see similarities in their game and others solely due to their nationalities, but in high praise Nadal said that he is a complete tennis player for his age with few weaknesses (if you don't listen to Andy Roddick's view point on his serve that is). Nadal on the otherhand said that he was barely the player that Alcaraz was at that age and that he has the ingredients to have an incredible career if he keeps going on the trajectory he has gone on in the early days.
“He's a great kid. A very complete tennis player at his age, with very few weaknesses. At his age I had a worse serve, a worse volley, a worse backhand, I had many things worse than him at his age. He has things very clear, from what I read at the press conference. He has a lot of ambition. At his age I would never have thought of something like wanting to face the best in the final. I think he has all the ingredients to have an incredible career," he said to La Sexta.