Carlos Alcaraz Spoke About His Meeting and Embrace With Rafael Nadal After His Victory Against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open

The Murcian met the Spanish legend after winning the final against Djokovic at the Australian Open.

The final in Australia

Carlos Alcaraz won the Australian Open title after defeating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final by a score of 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, and 7-5, becoming, at 22 years and 272 days old, the first player to win all four Grand Slam titles. From the stands at that final was a historic figure of modern tennis, Rafael Nadal, who was in the box alongside the authorities. However, they were able to have a brief encounter between the already crowned champion and the newly minted star.

Alcaraz's statements

In an interview with MARCA, Alcaraz commented on the words exchanged between the two of them. They talked about how difficult the match was and about the opponent who was looking to repeat his epic performance and win in Australia, securing his eleventh title and cementing his legacy as the most decorated champion in the competition.

"Rafa congratulated me, and we talked a bit about the match. How well Novak started, how difficult it was... I told him that tactically, I started in a way that didn’t work. I was playing very straightforward, and he told me he saw it that way too,” explained the new champion.

Carlos Alcaraz also says that the moment he hugged Rafael Nadal, while holding the trophy, was something special.

117 Titles in one hug

In that embrace, 117 ATP titles came together, 25 of which belong to Alcaraz and the remaining 92 to Rafael Nadal. The young Spaniard has, so far, shown greater speed in winning titles compared to Nadal.