Carlos Alcaraz has confessed to feeling starstruck when he first faced Rafael Nadal, describing the experience of playing against the 22-time Grand Slam champion as 'kind of a nightmare'. Speaking in Berlin on Thursday ahead of the Laver Cup, the 21-year-old Alcaraz reminisced about his on-court encounters with fellow Spaniard Nadal.
'It was a huge thing when I played him for the first time,' said the world number three. 'The other times for me were kind of a nightmare.' Alcaraz already boasts four Grand Slam titles, with his first victory coming at the 2022 US Open, the same year Nadal won his latest major at the French Open. Nadal, 38, was scheduled to play alongside Alcaraz in Berlin but withdrew due to ongoing injury issues.
'Playing against Rafa is always tough. Every time for me it was a privilege to share the court,' added Alcaraz. 'Every time I faced him, I tried to be a good enough player to beat him.' There were rumors that Nadal might retire from the sport at the Laver Cup, following in the footsteps of his great rival Roger Federer, who retired two years ago, but he is expected to continue.
Alcaraz will partner with German Alexander Zverev for Team Europe at the tournament, with their first match against Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton for Team World. Zverev, preparing to play on home soil, commented on Alcaraz: 'It's a privilege to share the court with a legend of our sport already.' The duo has faced each other three times in 2024, including in the French Open final, which Alcaraz won in five sets.
'I think it's amazing to hear my teammates call me a tennis legend, but I try not to think about it,' said Alcaraz. 'Above all, what makes you a legend in tennis is what you contribute to the sport and how you try and take tennis to the top, to be heard in every corner of the world.' To attract the largest possible audience, to people who have never seen tennis in their lives, thanks to you they watch it on TV or start to play, that makes you a legend, apart from the tournaments you have won and the success you have.
Team Europe won the first four Laver Cups, starting in 2017, but Team World has won the past two. Alcaraz has the most Grand Slam titles of any current player besides Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Team World captain John McEnroe, who this week described Alcaraz as 'the biggest breath of fresh air we've had in the sport in 10 years', said Thursday that the emergence of a new generation of talent means the men's game is in good hands.
'We were just watching the three greatest players who ever lived,' McEnroe said. '(We thought) what's gonna happen? And suddenly, things seem to be doing OK.' 'We've got some energy in our sport and this event helps with it.'
