Nadal bows down to his Spanish replacement

Rafael Nadal has gone all in on Carlos Alcaraz, with the now-returned king of clay hailing his compatriot’s “legend” status at age 22.

Nadal was quick to sing the praises of Alcaraz, who won his first Australian Open less than a fortnight ago while easily retaining the world No. 1 ranking.

The player who turns 40 in June laughed off a suggestion during an appearance at a Mallorca golf event that Alcaraz could be labelled as “a prospect.”

“He’s not a prospect at all. He has seven Grand Slams, so he’s definitely not just promising for the future. 

“He’s already a legend of our sport. If you look at the historic greats in Grand Slams, there aren’t many who have seven.

“So calling him a prospect makes no sense.”

Nadal also passed an opinion on his former rival Novak Djokovic, runner-up last month in Melbourne to Alcaraz and last of the Big 4 players still active at age 38.

He admitted he admired Djokovic’s longevity and dismissed further claims regarding the comparison between modern stars like Alcaraz and the Serb.
“Djokovic is still there because he still can be,” Nadal said. “He had a great opportunity in Melbourne. 

“Honestly, I don’t think he has that many left because of his age. What he is achieving is admirable.”