Carlos Alcaraz: Nadal is my idol due to his character,attitude and passion for tennis

17 year old Carlos Alcaraz says his countryman Rafael Nadal is his idol and that he likes the Spaniard's character, attitude and passion for the sport.

Carlos Alcaraz on his idol Rafael Nadal

The 17 year old has been making waves on the tennis circuit and many consider him to be a player to watch for in the future. He is currently ranked No. 318 in the world and recently spoke to the Tennis.com website about his admiration for the Spanish tennis legend. "I haven’t talked a lot with Rafa, but he’s my idol because of his character, attitude and the passion he has for tennis."

Nadal is one of the greatest tennis players in history, having won 19 Grand Slam singles titles in his career. Nadal has decided to skip the US Open Grand Slam event in New York later this month due to the current health crisis.

Alcaraz has been working with another Spanish tennis champion Juan Carlos Ferrero and says it is great to have someone like him by his side. "It’s incredible to be able to have [Ferrero] by my side because he can contribute a lot of things that others can’t. For example, since he’s lived a lot of difficult moments on court, he can give me advice on what’s best or worse to do during these situations."

Speaking to the ATP site in an interview earlier, Ferrero says Alcaraz does not like the comparisons to Nadal but is getting used to it. "Usually he hears people who say he is going to be the next Rafael Nadal... of course, it’s going to be difficult for him to [keep things] normal and stay calm and not tell me, ‘Why are they saying this to me?’ But he’s a little bit used to it, because most of the people here in Spain, they come to him many times and tell him he’s going to be the next Rafa Nadal. Finally, I think he’s used to it and he put it away and he goes his own way to always work very hard and to try to make his own career."

Carlos Alcaraz made his ATP main draw debut earlier this year at the 2020 Rio Open, where he defeated fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos Viñolas, who is ranked No. 41 in the world, 7–6(7–2), 4–6, 7–6(7–2), in three hours and 36 minutes, after he received a main draw singles wild card.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2PBWEn0