Spain's 36-year-old Spanish adversary Rafael Nadal has entered the end of his career and even nearly retired due to injury in the 2021 season. Although Nadal won the Australian Open and won the 21st Grand Slam trophy, there is really not much time left for Natto. At this time, there was an urgent need for a talented teenager to succeed Nadal.
This person has appeared! Spain's 18-year-old rising star Carlos Alcarraz turned out. Today, in the final of the Rio de Janeiro Open in Brazil, he swept Argentine minor giant Diego Swazmann 6-4, 6-2, becoming the youngest champion in the ATP 500 class event, and also reached the top 20 in the world with this title, and he is currently only 18 years and 9 months old, surpassing Nadal's record of 18 months and 10 months (the first time in the world's top 20).
In fact, back in 2020, 16-year-old Carlos Alcarraz won his first CAREER ATP Tour title at the Rio de Janeiro Open in Claro. This victory is also a double victory.
Alcarraz was the No. 7 seed in the tournament against No. 3 seed Schwartzman. The match took 1 hour and 27 minutes, schwartzman missed the last forehand counter-attack, and Al karaz knelt down to celebrate.
Alcarraz said excitedly: "To be honest, I can't believe it. It's been a great week for me, I'm happy with clay performance and now I'm feeling great. I think it's the game I'm best at, I know how to win games, I know how Diego Schwartzman performed, and this win is really important to me. ”
You know, two years ago, Al karaz was still ranked 406th in the world, and now he is among the top 20 in the world, you know, he is not yet 19 years old, and the future is immeasurable.
Al karaz continued: "I think the South American clay season gave me a lot of confidence and I know how to score and control the rhythm. After the Australian Open, I didn't feel good when I got home. There are some physical problems and my results at the Australian Open are not ideal. But then I played clay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and it felt good. ”
Coincidentally, Nadal is also the king of clay, and the clay performed exceptionally well, with 13 of the 21 Grand Slam trophies won on clay at the French Open. It seems that Alcarraz also has a fondness for red clay.
Alcarraz had previously played in the Australian Open, but lost to Berrettini, who was then ranked No. 7 in the world, in the round of 16 and was eliminated. Later he competed in Rio and won the championship. The lads are currently ranked 20th in the world rankings, surpassing Nadal of the same age. There's no denying that both Nadal and Alcarraz are talented teenagers. Nadal is nearly 36 years old and Al Karaz is less than 19 years old, which is exactly the change of generations.
Alcarraz has won 5 consecutive victories in the Rio Open, including the defeat of the famous Beretini, and at present, the young man is really strong and has the ability to break his wrist with Berrettini.
Alcarraz is 1.85 meters tall, as tall as Nadal, and also began to play professional events at the age of 15, and like Nadal, he became famous as a teenager. Judging from Al karaz's performance, becoming Nadal's successor is also well deserved. 【Text/Fighting Jianghu】