Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, Toni, has claimed that Carlos Alcaraz was ‘lucky’ to have come up against opponents of a ‘lower calibre’ on his way to sealing his Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open on Sunday.
Alcaraz came back from going a set down to deny 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic a chance to claim his 11th Australian Open title, with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 victory at Rod Laver Arena.
At 22, Alcaraz is the youngest male player to have ever achieved the feat. The victory was made even sweeter, noting that Djokovic, who has commanded such dominance at Melbourne Park over the years, has never been beaten in an Australian Open final.
Djokovic, in fact, swept past Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the final here in 2019, with the Spanish great taking a front row seat at Melbourne Park to watch the men’s showpiece.
Alcaraz’s rivalry with Jannik Sinner has naturally drawn comparisons to the rivalry of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer and the pair will no doubt battle it out for Grand Slams for years to come.
Nadal’s uncle, Toni, is a big supporter of Alcaraz, notably also praising the seven-time Grand Slam champion for his technical ability and his physical qualities.
Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, Toni, has claimed that Carlos Alcaraz (pictured) was ‘lucky’ to have come up against opponents of a ‘lower calibre’ on his way to sealing his Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open on Sunday
Toni Nadal (pictured) lumped praise on Alcaraz for his technical brilliance and athletic qualities
Speaking to Spanish Radio station, Onda Cero, Toni said: ‘He [Alcaraz] has exceptional physical attributes, excellent technical skill, and on top of that, he’s lucky: his opponents are of a lower calibre.
‘Before, when you went out to play against [Juan] Del Potro, [Andy] Murray, or [Stan] Wawrinka, you knew you were going to suffer and that the match was going to be tough. If they had a great day, they could beat you.’
Alcaraz beat Adam Walton, Yannick Hanfmann, Corentin Moutet, Tommy Paul, Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev, on his way to the Australian Open final.
Toni then turned his attention to the rivalry that is beginning to bubble between Sinner and Alcaraz.
Asked which player he prefers, Toni said: ‘Personally, I much prefer Alcaraz. When they face each other, the match depends more on what the Murcian does.
‘Looking at the numbers, I think Sinner is a little more reliable; he’s a little more solid.’
After being dumped out of the Australian Open in the semi-finals by Djokovic, Sinner, who won the Australian Open in 2025, is set to lose 1200 ATP Tour ranking points and fall to 3,350 points behind Alcaraz at the top of the charts.
But a gulf has begun to emerge inside the top-10, with 8,370 points now separating Alcaraz and Djokovic, in third, and 10,415 points separating the Spaniard and Alexander Bublik in 10th place.
Alcaraz came back from going a set down to deny 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovica chance to claim his 11th Australian Open title, with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 victory at Rod Laver Arena
While Alcaraz’s CV is already bursting with accolades, he has set his sights on winning every major prize in tennis
While Alcaraz’s CV is already bursting with accolades, he has set his sights on winning every major prize in tennis.
‘[It] means the world to me. It is a dream come true,’ the super Spaniard said, after his victory on Sunday.
‘Nobody knows how hard I’ve been working to get this trophy. I just chased this moment so much.’
Alcaraz joins Don Budge, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic as only the ninth man to win all four of the sport’s annual majors.
In addition to eclipsing pre-World War II great Budge by 91 days to complete the full set, Alcaraz is also the youngest man to reach seven slams after being the youngest, at just 19 years and 130 days, to hit the top of the rankings.
To put his mighty feats into perspective, when the former big three completed their career slams, Nadal was 24 and three months, Federer almost 28 and Djokovic 29.
Nadal and Federer were both 24 when they landed their seventh majors and Djokovic 27.
Alcaraz, who plans to get a ‘little kangaroo’ tattooed on one of his legs to celebrate, just wishes he had time to soak it all in and reflect on what has already been a Hall of Fame career.
Alcaraz, who plans to get a ‘little kangaroo’ tattooed on one of his legs to celebrate, just wishes he had time to soak it all in and reflect on what has already been a Hall of Fame career
‘I’m going to say tennis is really beautiful, but the bad part of tennis is we have tournaments week after week after week, and sometimes you don’t realise what you’ve been doing lately,’ he said.
‘Because once you finish a tournament, you’ve got to be prepared and your mind is about going to the next tournament.
‘What I’ve learned this year is to appreciate and enjoy every single second of the moment you’re living.
‘Not only lifting the trophies, but playing tournaments, playing tennis, getting victories, getting losses. Whatever it is, just enjoy and appreciate the life you’re living.
‘So right now I’m just trying to have some time to realise what I’ve been doing. I know I’m making history with some trophies, some tournaments, some achievements.
‘For me, it’s an honour to put my name in the history books.’
But Alcaraz is far from finished, saying he craves to add three elusive Masters 1000 titles, a season-ending championship and a Davis Cup with Spain to his collection.
He has won six of the nine Masters 1000 crowns, with the Canadian Open, Shanghai and the Paris Masters still eluding him.
‘I hate to lose, so that’s my motivation. Trying to lose as little as I can,’ Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz is far from finished, saying he craves to add three elusive Masters 1000 titles, a season-ending championship and a Davis Cup with Spain to his collection.
‘Yeah, there are some tournaments that I really wanted to win at least once. A few Masters 1000 I just really wanted to complete all the Masters 1000, trying to win each one at least once.
‘Obviously, the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup is a goal as well. I really wanted to achieve that for my country, for Spain.
‘I set up some other goals for the season, and I will try to be ready for, or to try to get those goals.’
Now holding three of the four major trophies, becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all of them in a calendar year is another obvious target for the all-conquering Spaniard.
‘Well, it’s going to be a big challenge. Those are big words, to be honest,’ he said.
‘I just want it to be one at a time. Right now the next one is the French Open. I have great memories in that tournament. I feel really special every time that I go there.
‘So I don’t want to put myself in a really pressured position to have to do it, but it’s going to be great.’
