Toni Nadal believes countryman Carlos Alcaraz is on an unstoppable rise and doesn't see any player in the current scene stopping him except for one man.
Toni, who is the uncle and former coach of 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, assessed Alcaraz's win over Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final in a written column on El Pais. Toni, like many of us, was amazed at Alcaraz's success and admits at 20 he achieved what most tennis players long for.
The legendary Spanish coach in his column suggested the fact that Alcaraz has no rivals capable of halting his rise, except for Novak Djokovic, who the Murcia native defeated in a pulsating final last Sunday. He praised Djokovic's fighting spirit to force the match into a fifth set despite the unfavorable 16-year age gap.
"Djokovic demonstrated, once again, his willingness to fight and his great tennis quality. Although it is true that the difference in age (16 years) gave the Spaniard a certain advantage, when we reached this fifth set I thought that certainly either of the two players could win,"
"Honestly, I don't see any tennis player on the current scene, with the exception of Novak Djokovic, capable of stopping Carlos' unstoppable rise. "
With Djokovic having turned 36 a few months ago, Toni reckons the Serbian star will not stay on Tour for long. That could eventually lead to Alcaraz enjoying a profitable career that will yield plenty of trophies and success. With two Grand Slams in his trophy cabinet, Alcaraz is now the youngest multi-Slam winner on the ATP Tour.
"Djokovic doesn't have many years left and I think that Spanish fans will have the opportunity to enjoy many more matches and celebrate many more victories on both hot and cold Sunday afternoons."
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