On this day in 2005, Rafael Nadal won his first title in Rome! 6-4 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-6(6) epic win after a five-hour battle with Guillermo Coria 🔥👏
Jose Higueras includes Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in his Mount Rushmore of Hispanic players
Tennis NewsFriday, 20 October 2023 at 14:22
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were among Spanish coach Jose Higueras' picks for his Mount Rushmore of Hispanic players.
The former French Open semi-finalist represented Spain throughout his tennis career, which ran from 1973 to 1986. Since then, Higueras has coached some of the greats of the sport, including Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.
On a recent episode of The Courtside: The US Open podcast, the 70-year-old was asked to put together a Mount Rushmore of the best players from Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. Mount Rushmore is a national monument in the US featuring the faces of four American presidents.
Higueras: "Obviously, Rafael Nadal would be at the top"
Higueras included the obvious choices of 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal and World No. 2 Alcaraz, while also adding Manolo Santana, Argentinian player Guillermo Vilas, and Pancho Gonzales who was an American player of Hispanic descent.
"Obviously, Rafael Nadal would be at the top. Pancho Gonzales, I believe, was a great player and a great competitor. There is another Spanish player, Manolo Santana who I think was an exceptional tennis player in terms of what you can do with a tennis racket and with a ball.
"He [Manolo Santana] was unbeliebable and he was won the Slams also. Then you have Carlos Alcaraz who at a young age has a spot there. Having said that, you also have Guillermo Vilas," he explained.
He went on to include French Open champions Carlos Moya, Albert Costa, and Juan Carlos Ferrero, as well as the 1975 US Open champion Manuel Orantes.
However, Higueras stressed that he would not include himself despite his great work as a coach.
"I definitely wouldn't put myself there unless I put a lot of things together. Besides my playing ability I have to put the other things that I have contributed to the game with pleasure," he said.
claps 0visitors 52
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- Rybakina is back!!
mandoist21-12-2024 - She sems to have a turbulent relationship with The Truth. Not even smartenough to make an excuse like "I severely twisted my ankle yesterday" -- then be seen shopping in some city next day while "recuperating"!mandoist21-12-2024
- Why do you even publish this TwatCaster's PATHETIC stunt for attention? There's plenty of reasons why imbeciles like him are 'talking' and people like Iga Swiatek are 'walking the walk'. Tennisuptodate should be above this tripe.mandoist16-12-2024
- If and when Political Correctness and gullible hearts over-rule BIOLOGY, the Human world begins its already seeming decline.mandoist15-12-2024
- The new generation has arrived and these guys need to do it with the left overs.
AceOfBase13-12-2024 - Every young, inexperiend CEO has "better" ideas (and friends to hire).mandoist12-12-2024
- What a load of nonsense. Emotional stress definitely didn’t cause her wrist or ankle injuries.Lyca10-12-2024
- Taylor Fritz 🎾 – the surprising third for many. 🎄 A great Christmas tree quiz question! 🎅✨MrAndreeva10-12-2024
- Simona Halep taking the axe out 🪓😮💨MrAndreeva08-12-2024
- ITIA is literally a Secret Organization. Way past time for a neutral entity to oversee, if not guide, these Elitists within ITIA whom enjoy their ability to keep their "investigations" in a business as usual format behind closed doors!!mandoist08-12-2024
