Toni Nadal has always been supremely complimentary about Carlos Alcaraz, but naturally remains defensive of his nephew.
And so, when he gets the opportunity to defend him and the era that he featured in, he takes it.
Many are, justifiably, suggesting that Carlos Alcaraz is on track to surpass almost everything that the Big Three that came before him managed. His trajectory certainly hints at that.
However, Toni has now emerged to explain why he has been able to swoop up so many elite honours in such a short space of time, pointing out the ‘advantage’ he has that Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic did not.
Toni Nadal compares Carlos Alcaraz’s era to the Big Three’s
Speaking at a recent conference, relayed by Puntodebreak, he began by admitting: “Everyone sees the amount of things he is achieving, his athletic attributes are incredible, he truly has everything he needs to succeed.”
However, then came the ‘but’, as he once again leapt to Rafa’s defence.
Would Carlos Alcaraz beat a prime Rafael Nadal?
Toni then claimed: “Besides, he has an advantage that players from years ago didn’t have: his rivals are a bit weaker, less committed than those from a few years back. He does have a great rival in Jannik Sinner, true, one who is always present, but the others have fallen by the wayside.
“I remember perfectly that during Rafael’s era, besides Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, there were other great players like Andy Murray, Juan Martín del Potro, David Ferrer, or Stan Wawrinka, to name a few. These players were always there […] In the current circuit, it seems that the direct rivals have abandoned us.”
This comes many months after John McEnroe argued that Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner would have beaten a prime Nadal, following that scintillating Roland Garros final.
Carlos Alcaraz is on track to break all of the Big Three’s records
It’s no surprise that Toni is keen to downplay Alcaraz’s achievements, given how he has started his career.
After all, he is sweeping up trophies at an alarming rate, and every time he snatches a new record, it always seems to be Rafa whom he is replacing.
When the left-handed Spaniard burst onto the scene, he stunned the tennis world with his athleticism for a teenager. He became an elite-level champion at such a young age and maintained that for decades to come.
Carlos Alcaraz has only ever lost one of SEVEN Grand Slam finals…
Alcaraz, however, seems to routinely rewrite the ‘youngest-ever’ records, having already won six Grand Slam titles and held the world number one spot too at just 23 years old.
Not to mention that he already has more major titles than any of the Big Three had at that age. Alcaraz has revealed his desperation to win the Australian Open too, to claim another piece of history by becoming the youngest to ever complete the calendar Grand Slam.
What’s even more frightening is that he shows no signs of slowing down either.
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