Grand Slam king Rafael Nadal touts Carlos Alcaraz as a future Slam champion.
The 35-year-old Nadal bestowed a new honor on the 19-year-old Alcaraz.
Nadal says the teenage phenom is now “better than me.”
“I think that today, he is better than me and he has a good dynamic, a good momentum,” Nadal said of Alcaraz. “I am conscious on what we have right now. I think I am a very realistic person, and that doesn’t take me to not believe that I can win or that I can do it, but today I think that Alcaraz is in a better physical state of mind, is more fit.
“I came here without playing. He’s younger, so he has that extra energy.”
In a battle of the ages, the 19-year-old Alcaraz made history as the first teenager to defeat the king of clay on dirt in Madrid. Alcaraz went on to topple world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals before dethroning defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in the final.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion said when Alcaraz is firing on adrenaline fuel he’s “unstoppable.”
“Well, it’s true that Carlos plays a lot with adrenaline, with momentum,” Nadal said of Alcaraz. “When adrenaline goes up, he’s practically unstoppable, but then in some moments he commits errors, but it’s logical because he plays with a lot of risk.
“It’s his way of playing, and in that sense I think he has the level to be able to win anyone of the world.”