Carlos Alcaraz is the next Rafael Nadal. This is what many tennis pundits and enthusiasts alike believe after seeing his meteoric rise starting from his late teens. And 2023 reaffirmed that belief, as Alcaraz went toe-to-toe with a player of Novak Djokovic’s calibre on 3 occasions this year.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz could play each other again at least once by the end of 2023 with events such as the Paris Masters and the ATP World Tour Finals coming up. Their rivalry is shaping up to be much like what Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had, especially in 2008. 15 years apart, the eerie similarities are hard to ignore.
When Nadal made records to break and a script for Alcaraz to follow
In 2008, the 22-year-old Rafael Nadal won his first Wimbledon title. The achievement came after the Spanish legend seized the first grass court of his career at Queen’s in the lead up to the Grand Slam. With the Wimbledon win, Nadal overtook Federer to become No.1 in the world.
It came at the expense of Roger Federer, who was on a 41-match unbeaten streak at Wimbledon. Federer was pretty much the best player in the world even though Nadal on the rise and had beaten him at the French Open earlier. At the time, Roger Federer won more than 50 percent of the Grand Slams alone in the three years leading up to that Wimbledon final.
In 5 gruelling sets spanning 4 hours and 48 hours, Rafael Nadal prevailed. It was Nadal’s first majors win outside clay. Co-incidentally, both Nadal and Federer had won their semifinal matches in straight sets.
However, Rafael Nadal’s US Open bid was thwarted a few months later. He lost in the semifinal to Andy Murray despite being the top seed in the tournament. Roger Federer took advantage of that and beat Murray in the final in New York City for his 5th title there.
How Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic did an encore in 2023
Two, Novak Djokovic was on a equally hot winning streak at the Slam, being unbeaten in 34 matches before the final. Incredibly, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic played out the final for 4 hours and 42 minutes, again in the Battle for the World No.1 ranking like in 2008. It was Alcaraz’s first majors win outside hard courts.
Carlos Alcaraz was also on a 11-match winning streak on grass like Rafael Nadal in 2008, due to winning at Queens for his first grass court title. Coming into the final, both Alcaraz and Djokovic also won their semifinals in straight sets.
But Carlos Alcaraz could not win the US Open that followed, losing to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals despite being the top seed in the tournament. What followed was Novak Djokovic defeating Medvedev in the final to win his 4th title in NYC.
Imitating Rafael Nadal perfectly in another way, Carlos Alcaraz will end 2023 by at least making it to 2 Grand Slam semifinals, i.e. in French Open and US Open apart from winning Wimbledon. Nadal in 2008 had made it to the Australian Open and US Open semifinals respectively. In another co-incidence, both Alcaraz and Nadal lost those matches to players from neighbouring European countries.
