Carlos Alcaraz during his loss to Alexander Zverev in his ATP Masters group. In Turin (Italy), on November 13, 2024
Marco BERTORELLO
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After his fall in the group stage of the ATP Masters in Turin this Friday, Carlos Alcaraz already started thinking about the Davis Cup, where next week he will seek the title in Malaga, in the farewell tournament of the legendary Rafa Nadal.
What is more important, winning a Davis Cup or saying goodbye to Nadal from the courts? For Alcaraz it is clear that the latter.
“For me, Rafa's farewell is much more important. There is a Davis Cup every year, but there is only one farewell to a sports legend like him,” the number 3 in the ATP ranking stated without hesitation when asked at his conference. press, after losing this Friday against Alexander Zverev and being eliminated from the ATP Masters.
Nadal is part of the list selected to represent Spain despite the fact that his level is far from that of his best days and that he is ranked 155th in the world rankings. This has generated debate about whether the Mallorcan should be in the individual matches or it is preferable to have another player with a better current ranking.
“I am very excited to be next to Rafa in his farewell. It is a super important tournament for him, where his career took off with that victory against Roddick,” said Alcaraz, who played with Nadal in the men's doubles tournament of the Paris Olympic Games, without being able to win a medal as a couple.
Alcaraz was thus making an allusion to the 2004 Davis Cup, in which Spain beat the United States in the final in Seville, with an 18-year-old Nadal who put that triumph back on track with a memorable victory over Andy Roddick, then world number 2.
“This is probably going to be the most special tournament that I am going to play in my career due to the circumstances. The Davis Cup is a tournament that I always wanted to win and representing Spain is one of the greatest things,” he insisted.
“I'm going to try to contribute and help the team in any way I can. For me, for Spain and for Rafa. He is the player who most deserves to end his incredible career with a title,” he promised.
The 'Final 8' of the Davis Cup will be held in Malaga (southern Spain) from November 19 to 24. The Spaniards will debut on Tuesday against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.
