"I was playing against Rafa and myself" - admits Alcaraz after loss to Nadal

Carlos Alcaraz fell short of ending Rafael Nadal’s perfect start to 2022 on Saturday evening at the BNP Paribas Open, but the 18-year-old is departing Indian Wells with his head held high.

As expected ALcaraz put up a very good fight against Nadal but somewhat expectedly as well fell short in the end. It's something that happened to fellow next-gen player Korda earlier in the tournament and Alcaraz actually admitted to being quite nervous before the match:

“The first set I was playing against Rafa and against me. I was always thinking that I'm playing against Rafa. In the second set and the third set [I was thinking], ‘Okay, I'm playing against Rafa, but I'm going to show my level, I'm going to give my 100 per cent that I [could] be able to beat him or [come] close to beating him.’”

He also reflected upon last year where he experienced many firsts:

“I think last year [there] were a lot of first times for me. I mean, first win in a Grand Slam, first Masters 1000. A lot of first times. Now I played more matches against Top 10 players, big matches in big stadiums. I think now I'm more mature. I know how to control myself, the emotions. Now I know [this] is my level. [I] know how to play against these kind of players. That's the most important, [to] know your level and what you have to do.”