“Losing him, in a certain way, is going to be difficult for us” – Alcaraz on Nadal’s retirement

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz revealed that he was in shock after hearing about countryman and tennis legend Rafael Nadal‘s retirement plans on Thursday.

Alcaraz, who partnered with Nadal in the Paris Olympics earlier this year, is in China this week for the ongoing Shanghai Masters and learnt the news that Nadal would retire after the upcoming Davis Cup Finals in November about an hour before he took to the court against Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals.

It turned out to be a doubly disappointing day for Alcaraz, who went down to the Czech in straight sets, but the world No 2 insisted he was not distracted on court by the news.

“It was, honestly, I couldn’t believe it when I watch it,” Alcaraz told the media after his loss on Thursday. “It doesn’t affect me at all before the match. I didn’t get distracted at all, I was just really focused on the match, I didn’t think about Rafa’s news. But obviously when I watch it, it was tough to accept it. I was in shock a little bit. I saw it like one hour before the match, so I had time to accept it and forget it a little bit before the match.”

“It is a really difficult thing, really difficult news for everybody, and even tougher for me. He has been my idol since I start playing tennis. I look up to him. Proudly, thanks to him, I really wanted to become a professional tennis player. Losing him, in a certain way, is going to be difficult for us, so I will try to enjoy as much as I can when he’s going to play. But we are going to play in Saudi Arabia, and then Davis Cup, so I’m going to try to enjoy as much as I can the time with him, but, it is a shame for tennis and for me.”

“It’s tough news for, I think, all the tennis world, and not only the tennis world” – Sinner

Alcaraz’s rival, world No 1 Jannik Sinner, who advanced to the semi-finals in Shanghai on Thursday to face Machac, echoed similar sentiments about Nadal’s retirement.

“It’s tough news for, I think, all the tennis world, and not only the tennis world. What I can say, I was very lucky to get to know him also, person’s-wise, and he’s an unbelievable person,” Sinner said on Thursday.

“Of course, the player, we all saw how good he has been as a player, and the lessons he taught us, the young players, how to behave on the court, how to handle situations on the court, tough situations. He gave to all of us a lot of emotions when we saw him playing. And also to stay humble in the same time, not changing with the success, choosing the right people around him, having a great family. There are so many great things he gave to all of us, and obviously it’s a tough notification, but in another way everything has a beginning, and it has a start, and also an ending. So, only he knows how he feels.”

They have been very consistent throughout the years and years and years. There’s not only been one season or two seasons, they made it for 15 years.

Jannik Sinner on Nadal and the Big 3

Nadal is the second of tennis’ Big 3 to announce his retirement. Swiss legend Roger Federer hung up his racquets in 2022, leaving Novak Djokovic as the last standing member of the Big 3. While Alcaraz and Sinner, have been compared to the Big 3 for their level of play and consistency over the past two seasons, the Italian believes they are still far behind the Big 3.

“What they have done in the last years has been amazing. There are not so many things to say about pressure, the pressure is always going to be there. But, talking from my side, I think about myself, what I have to do on the court, what I have to improve, and that hopefully makes it better as a player, you know, and also a consistent player. They have been very consistent throughout the years and years and years. There’s not only been one season or two seasons, they made it for 15 years. It’s amazing what they have achieved, what they have done. There are a lot of things what we can take from them. We cannot compare us with them, that’s impossible, especially in this moment now. I think we all were very lucky to see the Big playing tenni3s. And I consider myself very lucky to get to know them also as person and to learn from them.”

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