Alcaraz to Nadal: Brace yourself for 'full power'

Spain’s young tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz has warned legendary Rafael Nadal that he is ready to go with ‘full power’ in the upcoming clash in the Six Kings Slam. The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category along with the likes of Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz is currently taking part in the first-ever edition of the Six Kings Slam which feature some of the best players in men’s tennis including former world number one Nadal. The 38-year-old is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles. Alcaraz and Nadal are set to face off in the competition's semifinal. Ahead of the much-awaited encounter, the current world number two sent a warning to the former world number one that he is going to come with ‘full power’ in the contest.

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“I’m going to go full power. I’m not surprised he (Nadal) is practising and he’s 100%, hitting the ball super hard, feeling the ball really well,” he said as quoted by Tennis 365. “I’m not surprised at all, because of the player he is, the legend he is. It doesn’t matter that he stayed away from tennis for three, four months. He’s going to come back stronger than ever before. So I’m going to try to play good tennis if I want to beat him, but I’m going to go full without fear.”

Alcaraz also went on to praise Nadal who is set to retire from professional tennis at the end of the 2024 season. The four-time Grand Slam winner revealed that the 14-time French Open winner was one of the reasons why he started playing professional tennis.

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“I grew up watching him,” he said. “He was my idol, is still my idol. It is a shame that he announced that he’s going to retire from tennis. He’s a really important person for my life, for my career. He was one of the reasons that I wanted to become a professional tennis player, so knowing that he’s going to retire from tennis is pretty tough for everyone, for me.”