Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, expressed his admiration for his idol, Rafael Nadal, ahead of their highly anticipated clash in the semi-finals of the “Six Kings Slam” exhibition event in Riyadh. Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, announced his retirement from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.
Alcaraz, who defeated Holger Rune 6-4, 6-2 to set up the meeting with Nadal, said, “Since I started to play tennis, I’m watching his matches. I look up to him and I grew up watching him. He was my idol, he is still my idol.”
“A really important person for my life, for my career and he was one of the reasons that I wanted to become a professional tennis player. Knowing he is going to retire is pretty tough for everyone, for me.”
Alcaraz and Nadal have met three times on the main ATP Tour, with Nadal holding a 2-1 advantage. The Spanish pair played doubles together at the Paris Olympics this year and are expected to team up again at the Davis Cup Finals.
Nadal’s last singles appearance was at the Olympics on the same Roland Garros courts where he won 14 French Open titles. His Olympic singles campaign was ended by Novak Djokovic in the second round.
In the other semi-final in Riyadh, Djokovic will face Australian Open and US Open champion Jannik Sinner. Sinner, who defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-0, 6-3, said, “The semi-final against Novak will be a different match than the ones we played in the past.”
“We know each other quite well and we know what to expect from each other. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I am just trying to play the best possible tennis, and we will see how it goes.”
