- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Toni Nadal, the uncle of Rafael Nadal, the tennis star with the most number of Grand Slam titles in the world, recently spoke about the former’s approach to the rise of compatriot Carlos Alcaraz as the new world No.1. The 19-year-old Alcaraz bagged the top position after winning the US Open this year.
Speaking to AS in an interview, Toni said that Rafael, 36, was not much concerned about Alcaraz’s rise and was focused on his own game. He said this when asked whether the youngster’s No.1 ranking had a positive impact on his nephew by taking the pressure off him in Spain, their home nation.
“I don’t think Rafael thinks about that in the slightest. Rafael plays for him, he doesn’t think about whether Carlos Alcaraz, David Ferrer or even Djokovic is there. My nephew plays and the appearance of this or the other, you take him knowing that he is a tough opponent,” he said.
Rafael, who recently played in Laver Cup alongside Roger Federer, one of the modern-day greats who retired from the game, lost in the round of 16 in the US Open to Frances Tiafoe who Alcaraz defeated in the semi-final.
Toni was also asked whether if he was able to see Alcaraz’s triumphant run at the US Open and he said he was not. He said that he watched the final which also featured Casper Ruud, a student from Rafa Nadal Academy.
“I did not see them. I did see the final because he was playing against one of our players. When our player, Casper Ruud, lost set point, he then played a bad tie-break, and the set ball was played well by Carlos. From there, he disappeared. What I was worried about is Ruud, as you can imagine,” he said.
Rafael was overtaken by both Alcaraz and Ruud who clinched the top two positions in world tennis after the US Open. However, the veteran was back at No.2 after Ruud lost in the quarterfinals of the Korea Open against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
With Alcaraz and Rafael occupying the top two positions in world tennis, this is the first time that a Spanish duo have occupied them in the ATP rankings, simultaneously.
