‘Very complete’… Rafael Nadal admits 20-year-old ATP player is better than he was at his age

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Rafael Nadal has been chatting about tennis’ brightest stars once again.

The 37-year-old, who has endured a tough start to 2024 as he seeks to overcome his injury woes, has already outlined when his next tournament should be.

However, as he continues to crawl through the new year, there is a quiet resignation that this very well could be his final year on the tour, should his body continue to fail him.

It will be a dark day for the sport when Nadal does retire, but the future of tennis already seems in good hands with the latest crop of stars stepping up to produce some spectacular matches.

But who does the legendary Spaniard think is already a better player than he was at their age? Let’s take a closer look…

What Rafael Nadal said about Carlos Alcaraz

Naturally, he is bound to have a few biases towards the meteoric rise of Carlos Alcaraz.

However, aside from just being his compatriot, the talent of the 20-year-old is undeniable and there for all to see.

And whilst Nadal was likely an iconic figure whom the young star has looked up to throughout his time involved with the sport, he has now made a bold claim to suggest that the youngster is already a more complete player than he was back during his infancy.

He claimed: ‘He’s a great kid. A very complete tennis player at his age, with very few weaknesses. At his age I had a worse serve, a worse volley, a worse backhand, I had many things worse than him at his age.

‘He has things very clear, from what I read at the press conference. He has a lot of ambition. At his age I would never have thought of something like wanting to face the best in the final. I think he has all the ingredients to have an incredible career.’

Carlos Alcaraz can forge his own great legacy

Despite showing his desperation to play alongside his great compatriot, Alcaraz is already blazing his own path towards immortality, having claimed two Grand Slam titles at such a young age.

Whilst it will take something generational to come even close to the levels reached by Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the benefit for the world number two is that this trio will likely not be around for the bulk of his career.

There is finally a gap in the market for some young blood, and the fact that he has already toppled the superstar Serbian on two occasions is indicative of his prodigious talent.

His battles with the likes of Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner over the next decade are set to be enthralling, but should he take his quality to the next level and extend a gap at the top of the sport, the monopoly he would enjoy might take him towards earning a legacy worthy of the aforementioned trio.