When asked to select the greatest tennis player of all time (GOAT), Carlos Alcaraz chose Novak Djokovic above Rafael Nadal because to his “numbers.”
With the clay-court competition starting on July 27, Alcaraz and Nadal are competing in the Olympic doubles in Paris with the goal of winning gold for Spain.
Alcaraz, 21, a fellow Spaniard, defeated Djokovic last week to win Wimbledon for the second consecutive year, and Nadal, 38, praised him for it.
Alcaraz, who considers Rafael Nadal to be one of his greatest athletic idols, has conceded that Djokovic has surpassed him as the all-time great in tennis.
The four-time major winner was asked a series of questions in a video posted by the ATP Tour on Friday, with one focused on who is the greatest player of all time.
Alcaraz looked uncomfortable at the question and the ATP Tour clip joked that he ‘panicked’ with the interviewer, Sharky, then insisting that he ‘needed an answer’.
‘As far as numbers, it’s Novak Djokovic,’ Alcaraz said, referencing the fact that the Serbian has won two more Grand Slam singles titles (24) than his hero Nadal.
Are you ready for some 🔥? Because Sharky and Carlitos are bringing the heat with this one… 🌶️
Honest answers only 👊@ohnosharky x @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/cXIUdgdcd9
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 19, 2024
Alcaraz said, “The other two… [Roger] Federer and Rafa [Nadal]…,” suggesting that he was uncomfortable with his own appraisal. They’re the best, in my opinion.
As he prepares for the Olympic tennis competition in Paris, Rafael Nadal is teamed with Casper Ruud for the Swedish Open. On Wednesday, the Norwegian, who also reveres the “King of Clay,” made fun of Alcaraz for “partying.”
If Alcaraz can escape serious injury problems throughout his career, Nadal believes the young player will go on to become one of the greatest players in history.
‘My impression is that we are talking about a player who is going to be one of the best in history,’ Nadal said about Alcaraz this week. ‘That is my feeling.
‘He is a player with great potential. Life can change quickly, that’s the truth. You never know what can happen in the future. But today if we have to predict what is happening in his career, we predict incredible things.
‘His level of tennis is super high. If he is able to stay away from injuries, of course Jannik Sinner is there. But today I see him with Sinner above the rest without any doubt.
‘I don’t see many players who can stop him on the Tour and I think the best thing he has today is that in every tournament he plays, no matter the surface, he is going to be the favourite.’
Nadal is adamant that Alcaraz is different to the Big Three and has an ‘aura’ of being a favourite for every tournament he now enters, even at the age of just 21.
He feels that is not the same as the Big Three era, because he was dominant on clay, but Roger Federer was the king of grass while the Swiss legend and Djokovic shared the hard courts.
‘No [one] player was the favourite before each tournament [in my era] and today I feel that he has that aura, that feeling,’ Nadal added. ‘That’s a big advantage because I think he feels that [if] he’s playing at his level [that] it’s hard for anyone to beat him.’
Alcaraz has remarkably already tasted major glory on all three surfaces with triumphs at the 2022 US Open, 2024 French Open and back-to-back Wimbledon titles in the last two years.