Toni Nadal, the former coach and uncle of the legendary Rafael Nadal, has pleaded Carlos Alcaraz to let his nephew win a title before he officially retires.
Toni believes that Alcaraz is going to be a threat to Rafa after his latest Wimbledon triumph where he dethroned Novak Djokovic, ending the Serb’s 14-match winning streak at the venue.
Rafa, 36, last played at the Australian Open in January 2023 and has been consistently fighting with injuries ever since. He underwent a hip surgery in June and the date of his return is yet to be known.
When asked about the Spaniard’s return, Toni said: "Rafa is fine, on vacation, wanting to hit the court in 2024.
“Let's hope Alcaraz lets us win something then. He is excited to come back and retire on the track."
The 20-year-old’s unstoppable rise has raised serious concerns in the tennis world as there is no one who seems to be able to compete with Alcaraz as of now.
Earlier, Toni stated no one other than Djokovic can stop Alcaraz’s unstoppable rise.
“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 and 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.