Toni Nadal Believes Carlos Alcaraz Will “Equal or Surpass” Novak Djokovic’s Achievements

Carlos Alcaraz has won five Grand Slam titles at 22, while 38-year-old Novak Djokovic has 24 majors.

Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Toni Nadal (via X/The Tennis Letter/BBC)

Carlos Alcaraz has continued to make headlines since his thrilling comeback victory against Jannik Sinner at the French Open final. The win ensured that the Spaniard claimed his 5th career Grand Slam. Following that, Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni Nadal has revealed that the 22-year-old can surpass Novak Djokovic’s achievements on tour.

Djokovic is regarded as one of the greatest players to ever grace the sport, if not the greatest by many. The Serbian has won 24 career Grand Slam titles and at the Geneva Open last month, he claimed his 100th career title. Also, he has won a title every year since claiming his first ATP title in Amersfoort in 2006. The 38-year-old has also won a total of 40 Masters 1000 titles.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz has won 20 ATP tour-level singles titles, including five Grand Slams and seven Masters 1000 crowns at 22. This season, he has won two ATP 1000 titles, one Grand Slam, and one ATP 500 crown, making him the player with the most titles this year in the men’s circuit.

At the Battle of Stars, a charity tournament at Paula Golf Resort in Spain, Toni Nadal was a participant in the event. At the tournament via Eurosport, he was asked about Alcaraz’s performance at the French Open final. He praised the 22-year-old, adding that he can equal or surpass Djokovic’s achievements:

Alcaraz is the tennis player with the best conditions in the world. He’s fast, he hits the ball very hard with his forehand and backhand. He has the great advantage of not having coincided with the best Federer and the best Djokovic. He has a great rival in Sinner, but the rest… are very accessible. Equal him? Or maybe even surpass him. I’m not a fortune teller, but he has the skills.

Alcaraz’s win against Sinner at the French Open final is now regarded as one of the Grand Slam classic matches. The 22-year-old came from two sets down to beat the Italian star, who had never dropped a set before that at the tournament. The match ended in five hours and 29 minutes, the longest in Roland Garros’ history.

Both players will now have to shift their focus to the grass-court season. Sinner arrived at the Halle Open on Friday (June 13) ahead of the tournament’s kick-off next week. The Italian star is the defending champion, having beaten Hubert Hurkacz last year in straight sets to claim the title.

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Carlos Alcaraz’s coach reflects on his comeback victory against Jannik Sinner at the Roland Garros final

Carlos Alcaraz was on the brink of defeat against Jannik Sinner when he was down 4-6, 6(4)-7, 6-4, 3-5 (0-40) with the Italian to serve for the match. But he pulled an unbelievable comeback and dragged the set to a tiebreak before successfully defending the French Open title in 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2).

In an interview with El Larguero, Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero admitted to his initial skepticism regarding the 22-year-old’s odds of defending the French Open from such a losing position:

He was 0-40 in the fourth, 5-3 and he looked at me and he still makes like this with the racket, still saying we are still here, still saying vamos. I am not going to say I was believing that he was able to recover from this, 5-3, 0-40. But with Carlos everything is possible and he did it again. Amazing achievement.

There’s no certainty that Alcaraz will feature at the Queen’s Club Championships after his short vacation in Ibiza. The Spaniard won the tournament in his debut in 2023, but lost to Jack Draper in the third round last year.