Before his retirement in 2024, Rafael Nadal’s legendary career spanned long enough to cross paths with the new generation.
Nadal played Carlos Alcaraz three times on the ATP Tour, winning twice against his compatriot before suffering defeat to him at the Madrid Open in 2022.
The Spaniard also came up against Alcaraz’s rival, Jannik Sinner, on multiple occasions, and played him for the first time at the 2020 French Open.
He won his clash with Sinner at Roland Garros in straight sets and beat him again at the Italian Open in 2021.
Their third and final bout came once again in Paris, which Nadal was much more nervous about.
Rafael Nadal’s thoughts about Jannik Sinner before their match in 2021
Ahead of their fourth-round meeting at the French Open in 2021, Nadal said in a press conference: “It’s going to be a tough one. He’s young, he’s improving every week.
“He has big shots, so it’s going to be a tough one. I need to be solid, I need to be aggressive too, because if not, it’s very difficult.
“I need to make him play from tough positions, and I can’t make a lot of mistakes. Let’s see. I know it’s the fourth round. You can’t expect an easy opponent out there.
“Jannik is not the best fourth round without a doubt. He’s a dangerous one. He’s a great player, we know each other well, so let’s see.
“I need to be ready to play at a very high level of tennis, to have chances to be in the quarterfinals, and I’m going to fight for it.”
Rafael Nadal’s match with Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros in 2021
Their match started with a closely contested first set, in which Sinner managed to take five games, but ultimately Nadal drew first blood.
In set two, the 22-time Grand Slam champion secured an early break, which had the Italian on the back foot, but he managed to come back with a break of his own to make it 4-3.
Nadal refused to let him back into the match, however, and won every game from that point on, earning a third-set bagel to win the match 7-5, 6-3, 6-0.
Sinner wasn’t the only player that year to get beaten by him in straight sets at Roland Garros, as the king of clay didn’t drop a set throughout the entire tournament en route to the title.
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