In 2022 we witnessed the definitive explosion of Carlos Alcaraz. The 19-year-old Spaniard proved that he is not just a promising youngster, winning the US Open and becoming the youngest number 1 in the history of men’s tennis.
Although helped by some favorable circumstances, such as the repeated absences of Novak Djokovic and the serious injury of Alexander Zverev, the Iberian has left everyone speechless thanks to his style and his charisma. In addition to having won his first Grand Slam, Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protégé also has two Masters 1000 (Miami and Madrid) and two ATP 500 (Rio and Barcelona) on his bulletin board.
The Murciano took the whim of beating two sacred monsters such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic during the Mutua Madrid Open, testifying to his immense talent. His performance has dropped a bit in the last part of the season, also due to a problem with his knee.
Bercy suffered a torn abs and forced him to miss the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals. In the latest edition of the podcast hosted by Craig Shapiro, former Ecuadorian player Nicolas Lapentti said that Nadal at 19 was not as strong as Alcaraz.
Lapentti praises Alcaraz
“If you can compare Carlos Alcaraz to Nadal when they were both 19, Alcaraz is much better in many different things. He serves better than Rafa. From the baseline, he is a bit more aggressive.
Rafa was bad with his transition when he was 19 then he started improving a lot and tried to get more aggressive,” he said. “They move pretty similar. When they have to defend, they are very good – both of them. Then, coming to the net, Alcaraz is much better than where Rafa was at 19.
So, in many ways, Alcaraz is better,” he added. In the same podcast, Nicolas Lapentti also mentioned his first encounter with a young and tenacious 17-year-old Rafael Nadal in 2003. “Nadal has this thing that he’s just the best at competing.
Every single point, every single week for the past 20 years. It’s 20 years. I played Rafa in 2003, ok? In Bastad. The first time we played, Rafa was 17. I beat him 7-6 in the third (set). I saved four match points. He was this giant kid, baby face, huge arms fighting like a bull,” he remembered.
“So that’s already almost 20 years ago. I mean, he’s been 20 years on tour. So, that’s the thing that amazes me the most. Is Alcaraz going to be able to stay 10 years on top? Rafa, I think Rafa hasn’t left top-10 in the past 20 years or something. I mean, It’s just crazy,” he expressed.
