Carlos Alcaraz has snubbed Rafael Nadal when choosing the ATP player with the best forehand in history.
Alcaraz has often been compared with Nadal, due to both players being Spanish and finding success from an early age.
The two multiple-time Grand Slam champions have even leaned into this, with Alcaraz playing doubles alongside Nadal at the Paris Olympics last year.
Nadal has continued to support Alcaraz even after retiring from tennis, but he has not been picked as the player with the best forehand of all time by his compatriot.
Carlos Alcaraz picks player who he thinks has a better forehand than Rafael Nadal
Nadal is often labelled the player with the best forehand in history, having used his heavy topspun shot to win 22 Grand Slam titles.
However, Alcaraz did not do the same when speaking to AS TV, and instead he went with another recently retired player in Juan Martin del Potro.
Having won the US Open in 2009, Del Potro is one of the hardest hitting players in history and was predicted to win more major titles before injuries significantly disrupted his career.
The forehand was not the only thing that Alcaraz had to pick to build his perfect player, and he actually selected his rival Jannik Sinner for the best backhand.
Alcaraz then chose Roger Federer for his volleying skills, himself for footwork, and Novak Djokovic for his shot selection, but he did not completely snub Nadal.
Nadal was picked by Alcaraz as having the best mentality as well as being the most tactically gifted alongside Djokovic.
What Carlos Alcaraz said when asked if he had a more powerful forehand than Rafael Nadal
It is not the first time that Alcaraz has spoken about Nadal’s forehand, as he was actually asked to compare it to his own last year.
When speaking to media at the Six Kings Slam last year, Alcaraz was asked who he thinks has the most powerful forehand out of himself and Nadal.
Not wanting to praise himself too much, Alcaraz claimed that Nadal’s was the better forehand at the time, but suggested that could change.
“I am at the start of my career so I have to choose Rafa’s forehand at the moment,” Alcaraz said last year. “But I am really happy with my forehand as well, so let’s see at the end of my career who has the better forehand.”
Alcaraz will now look to achieve something that Nadal was never able to do and win the ATP Finals for the first time this year.
In fact it has been 17 years since a Spanish player won the ATP Finals title, and Alcaraz will take on Taylor Fritz in his second round-robin match to end that drought.
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