“Rafael Nadal is the GOAT”: Pau Gasol pays the ultimate respect to the Spanish tennis icon as he defeats Carlos Alcaraz to advance to the finals at Indian Wells

After reaching his 5^th finals at Indian Wells, Pau Gasol compliments Rafael Nadal by calling the 21-time Grand Slam winner “The GOAT”.

At this point, it is more than fair to call Rafael Nadal one of the best tennis players of all time. The Spaniard is the most successful player, winning 21 Grand Slams, 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles, 23 ATP Tour 500 titles, 10 ATP Tour 250 titles, an Olympic gold medal, among a long list of other achievements.

On Saturday afternoon, Rafa defeated his fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the finals at the Indian Wells Masters tournament in hopes to win the tournament for the 4^th time in his career.

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18-year-old Alcaraz, who got the chance to compete against his mentor, spoke highly of the current world number 4 after their well-contested clash. The teenager lauded Nadal:

“Rafa has thousand lives,” Alcaraz said. “If he’s down, he’s able to play at a great level in the tough moments.”  

Former Lakers legend Pau Gasol called Rafael Nadal “The GOAT”

Former NBA All-Star Pau Gasol was one of many who glued to his TV during the entire duration of the action-packed Nadal-Alcaraz thriller.

The 2-time NBA champ went on to call Rafa “The GOAT” ahead of his finals clash against Taylor Fritz.

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Rafael has had a sensational start to 2022. The 35-year-old southpaw has a flawless 20-0 record while winning titles in Melbourne, the Australian Open, and the Mexican Open.

Certainly, Nadal is heavily-favored to win his 4th straight tournament of this calendar year. However, the bout against Fritz will be an entertaining clash.