Spain’s young tennis sensation
Carlos Alcaraz has admitted
that constant comparison with legendary
Rafael Nadal is annoying.
The 20-year-old became the talk of the town after winning
Wimbledon earlier this year with a memorable win over the current world number
one Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in a five-set thrilling final with a score of 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4.
Alcaraz has often been compared with his fellow countryman
Nadal as he also came through his academy.
During a Q&A session with the fans, the current world
number two admitted that it is becoming annoying to be compared with such a legendary
player. "It's not annoying, but I would say the comparison with Rafa [is
annoying]," he said.
Nadal is often termed as one of the greatest players of all
time, having won 22 Grand Slam titles. Out of those, 14 came while playing at
the French Open which is why he is also called the ‘King of Clay’.
On the other hand, Alcaraz has just started his career and has
only won two Grand Slams.
His joy after winning Wimbledon earlier this year was
short-lived as he suffered back-to-back poor results.
First, he was knocked out of The National Bank Canadian Open
after losing to America’s Tommy Paul in the quarterfinal with a score of 6-3,
4-6, 6-4.
After that, Alcaraz lost the final of the Cincinnati Open
(Western & Southern Open) to Djokovic with a score of 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.
In the US Open, the Murcia-born was defending his title but
was knocked out after losing the semifinal to world number three Russia’s Daniil
Medvedev with a score of 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Despite those results, Alcaraz will be pretty satisfied with
his overall performance this year where he played in the semifinal or beyond in
all the three Grand Slams he participated in.
