"I don’t want to be next Rafa, I just want to be Carlos Alcaraz"

Carlos Alcaraz was always going to be compared to one of the greats of the game, Rafael Nadal, but he is determined to forge his own path.

The 19-year-quick old's ascend to the top of tennis made him the youngest player in ATP Tour history to become number one. After defeating Casper Ruud in four sets on Sunday, he successfully won his first Grand Slam championship. He has also won two ATP 500 tournaments and two Masters 1000 tournaments this season.

"I don’t want to be the next Rafa. I just want to be Carlos Alcaraz. I want to make history and make my own path to be remembered as Carlos Alcaraz.” said the Spaniard during an interview with CGTN. He further added:

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“I still have a lot of things to improve. I am still really young, I’m 19 years old. Of course, my time is here. (I’m) number one in the world. My time has come so fast and now it’s time to stay there (No.1) for as many weeks (as possible) and try to be better.”

He traveled to Valencia to join his teammates in an effort to secure Spain a Davis Cup Finals appearance. Despite his marathon run at the US Open, there is a chance he could participate later in the week.

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