Carlos Alcaraz is through to the quarter-final of the French Open after overcoming a dogged performance from American talent Ben Shelton.
The Spaniard won in four sets, and although Shelton did make life tough for Alcaraz at times, he always seems to find a way when playing on the clay.
Alcaraz won at Roland Garros for the first time in 2024, and he’s not showing any signs of extra pressure upon his shoulders this time around as the defending champion.
The 22-year-old is on a collision course to meet Jannik Sinner in the final this year, but with Tommy Paul to come next, Alcaraz might not be getting ahead of himself just yet.
- READ MORE: Ben Shelton sends two-word message to Carlos Alcaraz after losing to him at the French Open
Toni Nadal shares whether he’d coach Carlos Alcaraz in the future
Right now, Alcaraz appears to be doing just fine under the tutelage of Juan Carlos Ferrero in his corner, but as we know, things can change in tennis.
Nadal is the uncle of Rafael Nadal and Alcaraz will have to pull out some serious stops if he’s to eclipse his total of 14 French Open titles during his career.
Speaking on a podcast in Spain, Nadal has been quizzed on Alcaraz, and it would appear that he is a huge fan of the latest Spaniard taking the game by storm.
He said: “Tennis-wise, I think he’s terrific. He does everything, and he does everything well.
“He’s the fastest, he has devastating shots, both forehand and backhand. On the serve, which is perhaps his least good, but I think he also has a good serve. He’s skilful. He fails a little sometimes, I don’t know if he’s distracted or tactically, but he’s terrific.
“For me, I like Alcaraz more than Sinner, but nowadays, he’s a bit more reliable than Alcaraz.
“Alcaraz, I’m telling you, an extraordinary player.”
After heaping praise on Alcaraz, he was quizzed on whether or not he’d consider coaching him and he delivered a somewhat coy response.
Nadal continued: “He certainly wouldn’t call me, he has enough good coaches. I don’t think he needs my help at all. And if he did call me, well, I wouldn’t want him to surpass Rafael, otherwise I’d have a problem.”
Alcaraz comparisons with Nadal will rumble on
With both players being Spanish, it’s going to be impossible to silence the constant noise regarding the similarities between Alcaraz and Nadal.
The legendary retired player won 22 Grand Slam titles during his playing days, with Novak Djokovic the only male player in the modern era to claim more big wins.
Alcaraz is never going to be coached by Nadal. As he says, it just won’t happen given that he’s loyal to his nephew and wouldn’t want the new kid on the block blowing his record out of the water.
With the competition increasing in the male game, however, it will be fascinating to see whether either Alcaraz or Sinner can get anywhere near the total of Grand Slams won by the iconic big three.
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