Alcaraz Weapon Separates Him from Nadal

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, July 27, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz is a unique talent with a scary weapon that separates him from Rafael Nadal, says Kei Nishikori.

The Wimbledon champion is a speed freak whose lightning-quick court coverage can spook opponents, Nishikori told ATPTour.com. 

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Seeing Alcaraz’s dynamic brand of tennis helped inspire his own comeback, former US Open finalist Nishikori said.

“One thing I hope to get the chance to do is to play against these great young players like Alcaraz, Rune and Sinner at some point,” Nishikori told the ATPTour.com. “That’s part of my motivation to try to play for a few more years.

“I don’t think we have seen anyone like Alcaraz before. He looks like Rafa but he has more speed. Good defense, unbelievable forehand and he has a good backhand too.”

The 33-year-old Nishikori, who is 2-12 lifetime against Nadal, returned to the Tour in Atlanta this week where he scored his first win since 2021. 

The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist said he hopes undergoing hip surgery will add additional years to his career.

“My hip was not too bad, not like Andy,” Nishikori said. “We shaved some bone away and also I had a little bit of a tear in the labrum. Had I kept playing without the surgery then I may have had to do something like Andy did. But fortunately, I found out before it got really bad.

“I talked to James Duckworth, who had the same surgery and I was really surprised how quickly he came back to playing. But he told me that he had some issues, so perhaps he came back too early. I decided to take a little more time.”

Photo credit: @BNPParibasOpen