'I won’t face him many times,' Rafael Nadal drops subtle retirement hints after Carlos Alcaraz’s epic victory at the Netflix Slam

As the two Spaniards locked horns at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vagas, Nadal heaped praise on his junior. After Alcaraz beat the 22-time Grand Slam winner, Nadal joked about feeling lucky that he won’t face the 20-year-old many times.

The 37-year-old said that he is extremely happy about the fact that Spain has someone like Carlos Alcaraz who is talented and yet so young.

First of all, playing him is a big challenge. It’s completely different generations.. in Spain, we should be very very happy about having someone like Carlos. He’s an amazing player. Only 20 years old and already won 2 slams. A couple of very important tournaments. The good thing is as a player, I won’t face him many times. As a fan, I’ll keep enjoying him for a long time. Rafael Nadal said.

Rafael Nadal blames his body for retirement thoughts

Rafael Nadal also talked about the reason behind his thinking about retiring from tennis. The Spaniard admitted that it is not the mind but the body that seems to have given up.

Remembering Roger Federer’s retirement in 2022, Nadal said that even though he was too emotional about the Swiss legend leaving, he did not think of hanging his racket. However, persistent injuries have forced him to think about leaving the sport he loves so much.

What put me in a position to be close to retirement is my body more than anything else because my mind is healthy in terms of passion for what I'm doing. Rafael Nadal said. (H/T: People)

Notably, this is not the first time Nadal has hinted about retirement. Even in his recent interview, Nadal had confirmed that the 2024 season is going to be his last. People around the 37-year-old also feel that the Spaniard is going to call it quits sooner rather than later.