Toni Nadal, the former coach and uncle of the legendary Rafael Nadal, believes that no one other than Novak Djokovic can stop Carlos Alcaraz’s unstoppable rise in tennis.
Toni coached Rafa from his debut in 2005 to 2017, during this period the Spaniard won everything there was to win.
The 62-year-old believes that no one other than Novak Djokovic — whom Alcaraz defeated in the Wimbledon final on Sunday (July 16) — can stop the Spaniard. But he also said that the Serb doesn’t have much time left in tennis.
“Honestly, I don’t see any tennis player on the current scene, with the exception of Djokovic, capable of stopping Carlos’ unstoppable rise,” he wrote in the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
“Djokovic does not have many years left and I think that Spanish fans will have the opportunity to enjoy many more matches and celebrate many more victories on both hot and cold Sunday afternoons.”
Djokovic turned 36 in May and was 16 years older than his opponent in the Wimbledon final. Toni had nothing but respect for the 23-time Grand Slam winner that how valiantly he fought till the fifth set despite a massive age difference between the two.
“Djokovic demonstrated, once again, his willingness to fight and his great tennis quality,” he wrote. “Despite being 16 years older than his rival and finding himself in an unfavourable situation, he continued to cling to the match and raised his level, adjusted his shots more and managed to prevent Carlos from closing the final without giving himself a last chance in the final set.”
“Although it is true that the difference in age (16 years) gave the Spaniard a certain advantage, when we reached this fifth set I thought that certainly either of the two players could win,” he added.
While Rafa will always remain in the hearts of every Spanish, it has to be seen if Alcaraz will touch the heights his fellow countryman did as he did not only win 22 Grand Slams but also dominated the tennis world for more than 15 years while competing with the likes of Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Djokovic.