Carlos Alcaraz opened up about the encouraging message he received from tennis legend Rafael Nadal following his tough loss in the Barcelona Open final. The young Spaniard praised Nadal’s incredible ability to endure the grueling physical demands of the tennis calendar and revealed how Nadal reached out to support him after the defeat.
Alcaraz, who has admired Nadal since meeting him at the Madrid Open when he was just 12, shared that Nadal sent him a heartfelt message urging him not to stress over the recent results and expressing hope that he would be at his best for the upcoming Madrid tournament.
Reflecting on his loss to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final, Alcaraz acknowledged the immense challenge of maintaining peak performance week after week. “Having played so many matches without rest is what he had. I didn’t think about that, but I did know it would be hard and demanding,” Alcaraz said. “Playing Monte Carlo and arriving in Barcelona with a few days is always complicated. I surrender to the feet of Rafa Nadal, which he did week after week.”
The defeat ended Alcaraz’s impressive nine-match winning streak but offered valuable lessons. Meanwhile, Rune credited his victory to adopting a strategy inspired by Novak Djokovic’s tactics in their Olympic final clash. Rune said, “When I got broken in the first set, I thought to myself that I don’t need to hit every shot on the line. So I asked myself: ‘What did Novak do when he beat him?’ I played it in my mind, the Olympics final, and tried to play that style, making a lot of balls.”
Rune’s triumph marked his fifth tour-level title and his first in two years. Both he and Alcaraz are expected to face off again at the upcoming Madrid Masters 1000 event.
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