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Nadal says Alcaraz 'is going to be one of the best in history'

  • Posted: Jul 15, 2024

Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz won his fourth major title on Sunday at Wimbledon and one day later, countryman Rafael Nadal gave the 21-year-old a ringing endorsement.

“My impression is we are talking about a player that is going to be one of the best [in] history. That’s my feeling,” Nadal said after partnering Casper Ruud to a first-round doubles victory at the Nordea Open in Bastad. “[He is] a player with huge potential. Life can change quick, that’s the truth. You never know what can happen in the future. But today if we have to predict what’s going on in his career, we predict amazing things.”

This is not the first time Nadal, a 22-time major champion, has praised Alcaraz. The Spaniards are set to compete together in doubles at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

But on Monday in Sweden Nadal dove deeper into why he believes so strongly in the two-time Wimbledon champion, who swept this year’s Roland Garros-Wimbledon double.

“His level of tennis is super high,” Nadal said. “If he is able to stay away from injuries, of course Sinner is there. But I see him with Sinner over the rest today without a doubt. I don’t see a lot of players that can stop him on Tour and I think the best thing that he has today is in every tournament that he plays, doesn’t matter the surface, he is going to be the favourite.”

Nadal explained that in his generation, he was normally the favourite on clay, while early in his career grass was the domain of Roger Federer and hard was split between Federer and Novak Djokovic, according to the lefty.

“But no one player was the favourite before every tournament and today I feel that he has that that aura, that feeling,” Nadal said of Alcaraz. “That’s a big advantage because I think he feels that [if] he’s playing at his level [that it] is difficult that somebody’s going to beat him.”

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The 38-year-old this week is competing in the Bastad event for the first time since 2005, when he lifted the trophy as a 19-year-old. Since then, he has authored one of the best careers in the history of the sport.

Nadal will begin his singles tournament on Tuesday against fellow wild card Leo Borg, the son of another former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Bjorn Borg. It will be their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

“When you are 19 or 18 or 17, when I came here for the first time, I remember coming here and just playing with the friends, with Juan Monaco, with Carlos Moya, with Zabaleta, playing Playstation, going for dinner, a little bit of a party later. Different things,” said Nadal, who two decades later owns 1,075 tour-level wins according to Infosys ATP Stats. “When you are 38, life changes a little bit and you put more attention on how beautiful is the place, I even didn’t remember how beautiful the place is when I came here now.

“I can tell you that when you are a little bit older, you get more interested in things. You are more interested in going around a little bit, to walk around next to the sea, to know a little bit more about the village. Last time that I was here, I was just 19, so [it is a] different world, I can tell you.”

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Varillas hands Thiem heartbreaking farewell to Gstaad

  • Posted: Jul 15, 2024

Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas handed Dominic Thiem a heartbreaking final appearance at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad after denying the 2020 US Open champion in a third-set tie-break Monday.

A two-time quarter-finalist at the clay-court ATP 250, Varillas came into the tournament with just one tour-level match win on the season. Making his final appearance in the picturesque Swiss town, Thiem rallied from a set down to lead 4-2 in the third but was ultimately denied in a deciding-set tie-break as Varillas powered home to a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4) win.

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Playing his final season, the former World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings was looking for just his third match win on the season and first since Estoril in late April.

Varillas next faces a first-time Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Italian veteran Fabio Fognini, who defeated French qualifier Titouan Droguet 6-4, 6-3.

German Jan-Lennard Struff fired 11 aces and won 86 per cent of first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats in a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) win over Spanish veteran Albert Ramos-Vinaolas in a match that featured just two breaks of serve.

 

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Cobolli keeps cool to down Altmaier in Hamburg

  • Posted: Jul 15, 2024

Flavio Cobolli overcame second-set disappointment to notch a first-round win Monday at the Hamburg Open.

The Italian defeated home hope Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 on his debut at the ATP 500. Cobolli let slip a match point at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, but held his nerve in the decider to set a second-round meeting with eighth seed Zhang Zhizhen or Thiago Seyboth Wild.

“I’m so happy for the win. I think it’s never easy to play with Daniel, in his country,” said Cobolli after prevailing in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Altmaier. “I don’t think I played a really good match, but it is never easy to come back [to clay] after a month on grass courts. It is a pleasure to play here in Hamburg, on my favourite surface, so I’m really happy for this win and ready for the next round.”

Cobolli is now 6-1 in opening rounds at tour-level clay events this year, with his only first-round defeat coming against Rafael Nadal in Barcelona. The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitor is 20-17 for the year overall.

Despite Altmaier’s defeat, there was a victory for the home fans to cheer on Monday in Hamburg. Maximilian Marterer overcame Soonwoo Kwon 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-5 for his second tour-level win of the season. The 29-year-old lefty next plays fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo, who claimed five service breaks in a 7-5, 6-4 win over fellow Argentine Francisco Comesana, who recently reached the Wimbledon third round.

Laslo Djere fell just short of lifting the Hamburg trophy in 2023, when he reached the championship match before losing to Alexander Zverev. The Serbian began this year’s campaign strongly by defeating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-6(4).

The 29-year-old Djere converted two of three break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to set a second-round encounter with fifth seed Arthur Fils or Jaume Munar.

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De Minaur hits career high, Mover of Week

  • Posted: Jul 15, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz clinched his second major title of the season on Sunday by defeating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. The Spaniard remains the World No. 3, but his fellow Top 10 star Alex de Minaur is among those who have made a big jump after also impressing at the grass-court major.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers in the PIF ATP Rankings as of Monday, 15 July.

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No. 6 Alex de Minaur, +3 (Career High)
De Minaur continued his stellar 2024 season by reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time. The 25-year-old defeated James Duckworth, Jaume Munar and Arthur Fils to improve to 36-12 for the year. He was forced to withdraw prior to his last-eight clash with Novak Djokovic due to a hip injury, but the Australian has nonetheless risen three spots to a career-high No. 6.

No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti, +9
The 22-year-old Musetti enjoyed a dream run to his maiden major semi-final at Wimbledon. The Italian star battled through two five-set matches during his run, including in his quarter-final triumph against Taylor Fritz. Although Djokovic proved too strong in the last four, Musetti has moved up nine spots to No. 16, one shy of his career high.

No. 28 Arthur Fils, +6 (Career High)
Fils boosted his lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah by moving past Dominic Stricker, Hubert Hurkacz and Roman Safiullin before falling to De Minaur at the All England Club. It was the 20-year-old’s maiden fourth-round appearance at a Grand Slam, and he has risen six spots to a career-high No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings as a result.

No. 44 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, +14 (Career High)
Fils’ good friend and countryman Mpetshi Perricard added another strong run to his breakout year by also reaching the Wimbledon fourth round. The Lyon champion overcame Sebastian Korda with the help of 51 aces for his first main-draw win at a major, before also beating Yoshihito Nishioka and Emil Ruusuvuori. The 21-year-old is now a Top 50 player for the first time.

No. 75 Roberto Bautista Agut, +37
The 11-time ATP Tour champion Bautista Agut has continued his rise back up the PIF ATP Rankings thanks to a fourth-round run at SW19. The highlight of the 36-year-old’s run was a five-set triumph against another former Top 10 player, Fabio Fognini, in the third round.

PIF ATP DOUBLES RANKINGS

No. 1 (Tied) Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos, +1
They may have fallen short of their maiden major title, but Granollers and Zeballos are back on top of the world after reaching the semi-finals on the London grass. The Spaniard and Argentine have risen together above Matthew Ebden to become the joint-No. 1s in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings. Granollers and Zeballos also jointly held top spot for three weeks across May and June.

Other Notable Top 100 Singles Movers
No. 11 Taylor Fritz, +1
No. 15 Ugo Humbert, +1
No. 26 Jack Draper, +2 (Career High)
No. 34 Zhang Zhizhen, +4
No. 37 Jan-Lennard Struff, +4
No. 43 Alexei Popyrin, +4
No. 34 Zhang Zhizhen, +4
No. 53 Brandon Nakashima, +12
No. 54 Roberto Carballes Baena, +10
No. 66 Arthur Rinderknech, +10
No. 70 Emil Ruusuvuori, +17
No. 80 Fabio Fognini, +14
No. 100 Francisco Comesana, +22

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Nadal races to doubles win alongside Ruud in Bastad return

  • Posted: Jul 15, 2024

After 19 years, Rafael Nadal is back to winning ways in Bastad.

The Spaniard teamed with Casper Ruud to notch a 6-1, 6-4 against second seeds Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela on Monday afternoon at the Nordea Open. Competing at the ATP 250 for the first time since he lifted the singles title as a 19-year-old in 2005, Nadal immediately looked at home on the Swedish clay.

“It’s a pleasure playing with a good friend and an amazing player like Casper here in Bastad,” said Nadal in the pair’s on-court interview. “Personally, I am happy and I think it was a good match. We played quite well in the first time we played together and I’m happy to be back here after almost 20 years.

“I have great memories from this place from 2003, 2004 and 2005, so I am enjoying this week and hopefully can keep going.”

With both the Spaniard and Ruud striking their groundstrokes powerfully throughout, the wild card pairing powered to a 79-minute win that was twice interrupted by passing rain showers. It converted four of 10 break points it earned in the process, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 22-time major champion Nadal and the No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings Ruud will take on Mariano Navone and Cameron Norrie or Theo Arribage and Roman Safiullin in the second round.

“Like Rafa said, I think it was a good match. When it comes to the rain delays, I’m used to it more than Rafa, being from Norway and he is from Spain,” said Ruud, before light-heartedly adding: “He is getting old so I’m not sure how his body feels when he has to stop and start all the time, but he did well. We played good doubles and it was a lot of fun to share the court with Rafa as always.”

Monday’s victory was Nadal’s first competitive match since he fell to Alexander Zverev on 27 May in the opening round at Roland Garros. The 22-time Grand Slam champion will take on Leo Borg, son of ATP legend Bjorn Borg, in his opening singles match

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Hungry for history, Alcaraz says: 'I want to sit at the same table as the big guys'

  • Posted: Jul 14, 2024

There is no doubt that Carlos Alcaraz is a historic talent. His 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) dismantling of 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final Sunday was just the latest proof of that.

The bad news for the rest of the ATP Tour is that the Spaniard is hungry for more.

“Obviously it’s a really great start of my career, but I have to keep going. I have to keep building my path,” Alcaraz said. “At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now. It doesn’t matter if I already won four Grand Slams at the age of 21. If I don’t keep going, all these tournaments for me, it doesn’t matter.

“I really want to keep going. I will try to keep winning and end my career with a lot of them.”

Djokovic holds the men’s singles record for most Slam championships with 24, while Rafael Nadal owns 22 and Roger Federer claimed 20 in his career. How close to those legends can Alcaraz get, or could he even exceed their totals?

Alcaraz does not know, but he wants to do everything in his power to find out.

“I’m really happy with the work that I’m doing with my team. I’m really proud about myself, all the things that I’m doing great. I’m really proud about my people around my team. Everything we have done already has been unbelievable, an amazing journey so far,” Alcaraz said. “I really want to keep going, to keep improving, to keep growing up, try to keep winning. That’s all that matters for me right now.

“I don’t know what is my limit. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to keep enjoying my moment, just to keep dreaming. So let’s see if at the end of my career it’s going to be 25, 30, 15, four. I don’t know. All I want to say is I want to keep enjoying, and let’s see what the future brings to me.”

At last year’s US Open, Alcaraz lost a four-set semi-final to Daniil Medvedev. After the encounter, he was as negative as we have seen him about his game.

“I’m not mature enough to handle these kind of matches,” Alcaraz said. “So I have to learn about it.”

Learn Alcaraz has. The 21-year-old has won two of the three majors this season and is younger than Djokovic, Nadal and Federer were when they won their fourth major. He pointed to the Medvedev match as an important moment.

“I had to grow up and be more mature in those situations. I gave up a little bit. I remember perfectly. I gave up a little bit in the second set after losing the first one. It’s something that is unacceptable playing in a Grand Slam. I knew that these things can’t happen again,” Alcaraz said. “It helped me a lot coming to the next Grand Slams, next tournaments to be better in the mental side, to be strong enough, playing [my] best tennis in the close and difficult situations.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/14/19/39/alcaraz-wimbledon-2024-title-terrace.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Carlos Alcaraz” />
Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Alcaraz is now locked in a tantalising battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. The Italian leads the Spaniard by just 250 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, which serves as a good measuring stick for the year-end No. 1 race.

Alcaraz, 21, and Sinner, 22, have swept the season’s three majors and each star has claimed an ATP Masters 1000 trophy this year, too.

“I think it is good for tennis to have new faces winning the big things and fighting for the big tournaments,” Alcaraz said. “I’m really glad to have him there. As I’ve said many times, we have a really good rivalry, as young players that are coming up, fighting for these things as well. I think it’s great for the sport, for tennis and I think for the players, as well.”

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The Wimbledon champion made sure to also shower praise on Djokovic, who was unsure whether he would compete in The Championships until the days before the tournament. After withdrawing ahead of his Roland Garros quarter-final against Casper Ruud, the Serbian underwent surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee.

“I’m still believing that Novak is Superman because what he has done this tournament with a surgery just a few weeks before the tournament began. It is amazing. It is unbelievable,” Alcaraz said. “Honestly, as I said on court, I was talking to my team that the work that Novak has done has been unbelievable. [Giving] himself the chance to be able to play the tournament and making the final, it’s something out of this world for me. I beat him today, but for me Novak is still being like a Superman.”

As happy as Alcaraz is with his latest triumph, he knows this is just another step in his journey. The 15-time tour-level titlist is excited to get back to work on his game.

“I have to keep improving everything, I guess. My forehand, at this level I think it can be better. Every year should be better,” Alcaraz said. “I think my game in general I think can improve it and deal with the situations. I can’t stop like this one. I have to keep growing up and keep improving.”

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