Tennis
Djokovic: “Nadal remains my main rival”
Commenting on Carlos Alcarat’s rise on the ATP Tour, Novak Djokovic made it clear that for him Rafael Nadal is still his main rival.
The balance has shifted on the ATP Tour with the arrival of Carlos Alcarat, with the 19-year-old Spaniard driving a wedge among the sport’s greats and downright challenging Djokovic’s dominance, Nadal, in recent years.
The 19-year-old Spaniard won his first Grand Slam title last year and made history by becoming the youngest-ever world No. 1 in the Open Era.
An injury problem kept Alcarath away from the 2022 ATP Finals and the 2023 Australian Open, two tournaments won by Djokovic and which gave him an opportunity to topple the rising tennis player, who is now world No. 2.
Despite Alcarath’s arrival, Nadal remains Djokovic’s great rival, as the Serb himself said.
“My main rival is still Nadal. Even though Alkarath is No. 2, he was No. 1, won a Grand Slam and is arguably the next big thing in sport, I feel my rivalry with Nadal is hard to go away because someone is young, they’ve done great things in the last year and a half.”
“Nadal was and will probably remain my greatest opponent in my entire career,” said the 35-year-old Serb.
Source: Tennis24
Source: sport 24
