"He should follow Rafael Nadal" - Toni Nadal on Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz has been compared to Rafael Nadal pretty early on in his career despite his play not really resembling that of the Spaniard.

The similarities between the players are certainly visible with both being Spanish and both breaking out the year but there are some obvious differences. Alcaraz himself admitted that his biggest inspiration when he was younger was Roger Federer as the Swiss was his favourite player growing up.

In a column for El Pais, Toni Nadal reflected how the great players are able to adjust their style to fit the 'correct model'. He explained how Nadal modelled his game after Muster and Connors:

"One of the successes that good players make is to adjust their style to the correct model; that is, knowing how to see which are the most suitable patterns according to the characteristics that one has. That is what Rafael and I tried to do from the beginning of his tennis career. Even having Carlos Moya as my favorite player, also as a close figure, compatriot and friend, from an early age it was clear to me that the game model that my nephew should follow to enhance his natural qualities was a mixture of the game of Thomas Muster and Jimmy Connors."

Then he broke down Carlos Alcaraz admitting that the young Spaniard has the same ability. He explained that he doesn't model his game after Federer but rather embraces some of what made Nadal so great:

"This is also one of the great virtues that Alcaraz treasures. Despite having openly declared that he is an admirer of Roger Federer, he has been able to see that his line of play should follow the same paths that continue to guide my nephew. Our young tennis player has been demonstrating that same desire for victory, that ability not to give up and to fight until the last ball , that same intensity that has given Rafael so many victories and of which Carlos has taken good note, as he has gone growing up as a tennis player."

Alcaraz plays Ruud in the US Open final later today.