Rafael Nadal played a solid match but found himself on the losing side to compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in Marid 2-6 6-1 3-6.
Nadal was very complimentary of Alcaraz accepting defeat gracefully and explaining that the youngster was simply better than him. He said:
“The first thing is to congratulate him. First of all, happy for him, he has been better than me in various facets of the game and I need to improve these days. It is accepted naturally and calmly, with the certainty that there is a path to follow and arrive with real options to generate opportunities. It is an easy defeat to digest, we knew what we were coming here for and we have to congratulate Carlos, he is playing well and I wish him the best for the rest of the tournament."
Nadal was also asked about Alcaraz facing Djokovic which is a matchup the youngster craved for a very long time. On that matchup, Nadal said:
"I haven't seen Novak play this week. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, one of the best players in history is playing against a youngster at a very high level. Carlos can win perfectly, I don't see any reason why he can't win. It's true that he can't have a slump like the one in the second set. He plays a lot with moods, when his adrenaline goes up he's practically unstoppable. Then, of course, he makes mistakes because he plays with a lot of risk."
Summing up his thoughts, Nadal backed Alcaraz for a good match and a possible victory:
"I think he has the level to beat anyone in the world, without a doubt."
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