Rafael Nadal gives positive Carlos Alcaraz verdict after Australian Open win

Rafael Nadal reacts to winning the French Open title

Rafael Nadal has hailed Carlos Alcaraz following his compatriot’s Australian Open win over Botic van de Zandschulp today. The 17-year-old, who has been compared to Nadal, battled his way into the second round. And that means he’s now become the youngest player to win a Grand Slam match since Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Igor Sijsling Down Under seven years ago.

Alcaraz won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 to book his place in the second round of the Australian Open.

It was a fine performance from the youngster, who will now face Mikael Ymer in the second round on Thursday.

Alcaraz, somewhat inevitably, has been compared to Nadal as a result of his nationality and impressive physique.

And Nadal himself has now hailed his compatriot after his victory over van de Zandschulp, saying: “He’s very good.

“He’s very young. He has everything to improve in the future with his age.

“He already is where he is, and he has a lot of great things on his game.

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“I really believe that he will have a great future because he’s a good guy, humble, a hard worker. He has a lot of positive things.”

The teenager admitted to feeling nervous before the match, but was delighted that he was able to emerge from the showdown with a win.

“I’m very happy to [get] this win today in my first Grand Slam,” he said after the match.

“I try to enjoy, to play my game. I enjoyed it. I got the experience. I’m excited to play my second round.”

He did, however, admit that he wasn’t entirely happy with the Nadal comparisons and attempted to downplay them in the aftermath of the contest.

“I try to focus on me, not on the social media, to play my game, play in front of my team, [for] my team, me, my family,” he said.

“I don’t hear the comparison with Rafa.”

Meanwhile, Nadal himself thumped Laslo Djere in straight sets to seal his passage to the second round.

And he was delighted afterwards, especially given how a back injury recently forced him to miss three ATP Cup matches,” he said.

“It’s been a tough 15 days for me because I had some tough issues with the back so I needed to survive today.

“That’s what I did. I tried to be focused all the time, tried to get through. I wish him all the best for the season.

“For me personally, I’m happy to be through to the second round. I did a good job today. Straight sets, that’s what I needed.

“I’m here to try my best as always. I can’t say much more. Let’s go day by day. Today I was able to find a way to be through. That’s given me a chance to have one more day tomorrow.

“It’s the work of every day trying to get ready. It wasn’t ideal preparation for me but I’m still alive. That’s the main thing.

“I’m enjoying being here again in this amazing country and just want to be here as long as possible.”

Mats Wilander was impressed by Nadal and thinks the Spaniard will ‘push himself to the limit’ in order to win a historic 21st Grand Slam.

“His past injury issues ahead of the Australian Open could come from the fact he has to work on hard courts for a couple of months getting ready for Australia, that’s the first thing,” Wilander said.

“You would think he would be more injured during the clay court season because he plays so many more matches, we know Rafael Nadal likes to play a lot of matches, likes to get his confidence.

“Maybe when he trains, I can see also that he pushes himself harder because he needs that confidence and he needs to be out there.

“We have seen him during tournaments hitting ball after ball after ball and the other players don’t do that – he works really hard, even during majors.

“It could be a combination of hard courts and practising, needs more repetition and pushes himself hard.

“This is Rafa Nadal, this is what he has done throughout his whole career and he is going to push himself to the limit.”

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