Nadal: “Alcaraz has enormous potential, he just needs time”

Rafael Nadal He is already in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open after defeating Carlos Alcaraz this Wednesday in a generational duel between the present and future of Spanish tennis. The Spaniard had a more comfortable match than it was aimed to be at first (6-1 and 6-2 in one hour and 15 minutes) against the Murcian pearl, who suffered abdominal discomfort from the first set.

Nadal praised Alcaraz with undisguised affection at the end of the game and predicted a future for him on the circuit. “Today I had a difficult game against a young man who is very strong. He has enormous potential and he only needs a little time. I want to wish him the best, because apart from a great tennis player he is a boy who has clear things, values ​​that society you need, “he assured. “More than anything in life, the most important thing for me is to be a good person,” he continued, and even allowed himself a joke: “I've lost myself, repeat,” he told Alex Corretja. “When you have the humility to be clear about what you have to improve while still being very successful, as is your case, that pushes you to want to be better, which is the essence of this sport,” he added.

He also valued his dynamics positively: “I think the victory in Barcelona helped me. Things have gradually got better. The training sessions here have been good.” And he thanked being able to have an audience in the stands again: “It's a very special day. You don't know what we've missed you. Playing any sport without you is losing a basic part. We are very grateful that you can be back. supporting our sport “.

“I feel comfortable with the service again”

In another vein, at the post-match press conference Nadal spoke about how well his serve had worked: “I feel comfortable with serving again. I have recovered a few things that due to time without competing and due to some vices that one acquires with the work that we have done, the 'abc' you had to retrieve is retrieved. Since I have arrived in Madrid I have been serving quite well and I hope it is the normal trend. There is always a why, which is routine, trustworthy. The victory in Barcelona helped me to do that and with that calm I have taken steps forward “.

He also reiterated the good impression that Alcaraz transmits on him: “There are many things that show what I see. He has not complained throughout the game. He has had a very good attitude even losing as he has lost. In Australia he was confined for fifteen days and not a complaint, when he has trained he has been with the right attitude. I have no need to praise anyone and if I say it it is because I feel it. We need someone new to Spanish tennis to come out, but we don't have to put pressure on them. He has a great future ahead of him and I hope that he will take the path that we all hope him to do. “

Nadal modestly appreciated the fact that, from the outside, his victory was seen as a lesson to the young Murcian: “I don't have to teach anyone anything. He's in good company. He has his team, who teaches him things. If he ever has any questions, I'll be happy to explain things to him. We are here to help each other. He's a great boy and we don't talk about tennis. You have that doubt of ignorance. Playing against young people has a danger and that is that their levels vary a lot. They have that potential that they don't know one hundred percent but that they are capable of developing. “

Alcaraz: “That Rafa praises me means a lot”

Carlos Alcaraz regretted not having “done something else” against Rafael Nadal, he drew a positive reading of the game and praised the values ​​of the world number two, his lifelong idol. “You could have done something better about the game, but in the end it's Rafa. It is never easy neither the first nor when you take a hundred times. Playing with him is very special, being with him on the court. The next one will be different, I will know how to play and how to go out on the court. This time I got the urge to want to finish the fast points. There were moments when it seemed that it was not Rafa. But it is an experience that I will always carry with me, “Alcaraz explained.

The young Spaniard refused to justify, in part, the defeat due to the abdominal discomfort he suffered after suffering a fall in the third game of the match. “It has not affected me. It has been a nuisance that has been that moment and then I have been well. As I said in front I had a great Rafa who has not let me play at a high level. I have been in tow but having Rafa in front of him is never easy and I have to learn to handle playing with these types of players, “argued the Murcian tennis player.

Carlos Alcaraz praised the values ​​of Rafael Nadal, from whom he intends to learn. “For me that Rafa talks about me like that means a lot. In the end I have always said that he is my idol since I was little and I want to follow in his footsteps. I've never seen him make a bad gesture. I am doing things well and if I continue like this I will be on the right track “, he stressed. —EFE