Feliciano Lopez is excited about the future of Spanish tennis after the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz as Rafael Nadal is nearing retirement.
For many years Spain has had one of the best tennis players in the world which is very useful for keeping the interest of the country in the sport. Rafael Nadal was responsible for inspiring many new players during his almost two-decade run in tennis and that yielded players like Carlos Alcaraz.
The recently turned 20-year-old is now one of the most prominent young players on the ATP Tour and certainly one of the best. He will certainly keep the interest in the sport in Spain going strong for many years and directly influence many young players to pick up a racquet.
The Madrid Open director Feliciano Lopez, who spent much of his career playing at the same time as Nadal, called it quite lucky for the country to see a player like Alcaraz emerge as Nadal is slowly marching to the sunset of his career.
I don't think anyone could have imagined that in Spain, when Rafa was going to finish his career, someone like him was going to emerge.
Lopez got to see Alcaraz perform twice at the Madrid Open and he handed him the trophy for the second time recently. It's been quite a spectacle watching many Spaniards fill the stands of the Caja Magica to support Alcaraz who certainly has the whole country on his side.
If he can keep up this high level he will certainly come close to the status that Rafael Nadal has in the country though it's very unlikely that he ever eclipses the legend of Nadal in Spain. Nobody knows and time will tell but he seemingly has everything he needs to be just as great as one of the best players in history.
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