Carlos Alcaraz's tough time watching Nadal's retirement video

Spain’s young tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz has revealed that it was difficult for him to watch the video where legendary Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from the sport. The 38-year-old has been regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era.

Nadal announced his much-awaited retirement from the sport on Thursday in a video that was available on the social media platforms. The news broke the heart of the millions of fans who were hoping to see the former world number one continue playing at the highest level.

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Alcaraz, who is being often described as the perfect heir to Nadal, has opened up about his reaction when he heard the news. The four-time Grand Slam winner, who was taking part in the Shanghai Masters and suffered a defeat in the quarterfinal to the Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-5, while talking to the media after the contest, stated that the news did not distract him at first but further went on to state that it was difficult for him to watch the video.

"Well, it was, honestly, I couldn't believe it when I watch it,” he said. “You know, it didn’t affect me at all before the match. I didn't get distracted at all, I was just really focused on the match, I didn't think about Rafa's news. But obviously when I watched it, it was tough to accept it. I was in shock a little bit. Thanks that I saw it like one hour before the match, so I had time to accept it and forget it a little bit before the match."

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Nadal finished his illustrious career with 22 Grand Slam titles to his name. Fourteen of those titles came while playing at the Roland Garros, which is why he is also known as a the ‘King of Clay’.