Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, the 21-year-old tennis phenom, said he was starstruck when he first faced Rafael Nadal, referring to the experience as “kind of a nightmare.” Speaking in Berlin ahead of the Laver Cup, Alcaraz looked back at his matches against the 22-time Grand Slam champion and called it “a huge thing” to take to the court against his compatriot.
“Every time I faced Rafa, it was a privilege. I always tried to be good enough to beat him,” Alcaraz said.
Now that he has secured four Grand Slam titles, the first of which came in 2022, the same year Nadal scored his last major at the French Open, Nadal was scheduled to turn up alongside Alcaraz in Berlin before an injury ruled him out.
Speculation mounted over Nadal’s retirement but the 38-year-old is expected to remain active in the sport. Alcaraz will join German Alexander Zverev in the Laver Cup for Team Europe, which will play against Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton of Team World in their opening encounter.
Praise from Zverev: “It is an honour to share the court with a legend.” The team from Europe has won four times so far, although Team World has won the last two editions.
