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Carlos Alcaraz reveals his admiration for Rafael Nadal is pushing him to never give up and try to win points even when his back is against the wall. Alcaraz, 19, grew up watching and idolizing Nadal, who is widely considered one of the greatest competitors in tennis history.
Now, Alcaraz is trying to bring that level of competitiveness to his match. "I'm playing for my family, my team. Someone I looked up to when I was younger was Rafa Nadal. Trying to make impossible shots, impossible passes, it's all for him.
Right now, I'm playing for my dad, to make him proud, my grandfather and my whole family, trying to make them proud of me," Alcaraz told Tennis Channel, per Sportskeeda.
Alcaraz went from watching others to being watched
Alcaraz, who will be turning 20 in May, is a Grand Slam champion and the world No 1 on the ATP rankings.
On Sunday, NBA star Jimmy Butler came to watch Alcaraz's match against Dusan Lajovic. Alcaraz is an NBA fan and it he admitted to feeling nervous when he spotted Butler coming to watch his match. "Well, I feel great, you know, to see, like, celebrities watching my matches.
It's unbelievable. I feel a little bit nervous when I see a person like Jimmy [Butler], celebrities, when I was playing, like, in the US Open. For me, it's unbelievable, you know. In certain ways, I can't believe that these people enjoy watching my matches for me.
It's crazy," Alcaraz said. Alcaraz has accomplished some pretty notable things and he is widely tipped to become an all-time great. With Nadal approaching his 37th birthday, it's clear that the 22-time Grand Slam champion is nearing the end of his career.
But the Spanish tennis community is not concerned about their tennis future as they are confident Alcaraz is the one who will land them multiple Grand Slam titles.
