Carlos Alcaraz has tremendous respect for
Rafael Nadal cautioning everybody against counting him out for
Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal has not played since January when he injured his hip in a match against Mackenzie McDonald. It's been a painful journey since then for Nadal as he had to push back
his return a couple of times due to the recovery not going as originally thought.
The Spaniard recently provided an update talking about it admitting trouble. His
uncle Toni was more upbeat recently confirming that Nadal will play at Roland Garros which is something that made a lot of people in the tennis world happy. Alcaraz is as well as he wants him in Paris so he can challenge him properly as he revealed when talking to
Puntodebreak.
"He is one of the best in history and we want to see him in all the
tournaments. I say this as a player and as a tennis lover, I like to see
him compete and learn from him. It has been a pity all these months where we have not been able to see him in tournaments. Hopefully, he will be in Rome and then at Roland Garros, where he will be a rival to beat."
It's unlikely that Nadal plays any event before Roland Garros to give himself plenty of time to play himself into shape. He won't be match ready and the preparation will be far from ideal but Alcaraz cautioned people against ruling him out of Roland Garros candidacy because of his tremendous record at the event.
Although he has not played since Australia, a man who has won a
tournament 14 times will always be difficult to beat in that tournament,
even if he comes without match rhythm. It will also be
difficult for him, tennis requires that competitive rhythm, but Rafa is
Rafa, even if he arrives without many matches, he will surely show a
spectacular level.