Alcaraz: 'I hope to have a rivalry like Federer & Nadal'

Getty Images

It’s been 20 years since one of the most iconic rivalries in our sport began.

In March 2004, Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami without knowing that they would end up playing a total of 40 Lexus ATP Head2Head matches on the ATP Tour, including 24 finals. They inspired millions of fans all over the world. Several of these fans are now leading players on the ATP Tour, including Carlos Alcaraz.

The player from Murcia, currently No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, has idolised his countryman since he was a child and tried to replicate Federer's aggressive style on the court. But he is also a great admirer of the rivalry between the two, known to many as Fedal.

“They’ve had a very beautiful but demanding rivalry,” Alcaraz said at Hard Rock Stadium, where the Miami Open presented by Itaú is taking place.

He has faced Nadal on the Tour (1-2 record) and has trained with Federer — the 20-year-old’s respect and admiration for both is obvious. After all, they have been teachers of sorts in his young and successful career. Carlitos learned a lot from the rivalry they developed over 15 years (2004-2019), making it the third-most repeated matchup in the Open Era.

“What I learned from their rivalry is that you can never fall behind or throw in the towel or be satisfied. You always have to improve, you always have to raise your level. Even if you think you’re at your highest level, that you can’t do any more, you can always do a bit more,” the two-time Grand Slam champion explained.

“That’s what they’ve shown, being at the top for so many years… Each time one of them lost to the other, he tried to be better to win the next time. And they did it for a long time, which is incredible and something to admire.”

This healthy competitiveness between Nadal and Federer led them to build the most repeated rivalry in the history of the Open Era (since 1968) in Grand Slam finals. There were nine in total, the same number that the classic between Nadal and Novak Djokovic has produced.

Alcaraz dreams of having such a rivalry, but not because of the media impact. Far from it. Rather, so that someone pushes him all the time to overcome his limits. “I hope to have a rivalry like they’ve had,” he explained before revealing with whom he would like to experience such a level of competitiveness with.

“Right now, because of how people see it, it could be with Jannik,” he said of Jannik Sinner, with whom he has a Lexus ATP Head2Head of 4-4, full of magical points that have attracted an increasing number of admirers around the world.

“Hopefully Jannik and I both have a long and beautiful future ahead of us. I hope it will allow me to get the best out of myself and keep growing thanks to him, seeing the standard he sets,” Carlitos concluded shortly after beating Roberto Carballés Baena in his Miami debut.

A duel with the Italian in this event could only happen in the final, a round in which they have only faced each other once, two years ago on the clay of the Umag ATP 250, where Sinner won. The first of four more matches that the Spaniard needs to win this week to secure another potential clash between them takes place on Monday when he faces the Frenchman Gael Monfils.

Editor's note: This story has been translated from ATPTour.com/es.