By SABC Sport
19th July 2023
The only player standing in Carlos Alcaraz's way is Novak Djokovic, according to Toni Nadal.
With each tournament, Alcaraz is shedding his young pretender moniker. The rising Spanish star picked up his second grand slam title following a four-hour epic against Djokovic in the Wimbledon final on Sunday.
In the last two grand slams, Alcaraz has swept aside the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanso STsitsipas and Holger Rune, all in straight sets. Now with a second career win over Djokovic on Sunday, the 20-year-old is beginning to show signs of dominance.
Writing for Spanish daily newspaper El Pais, Rafael Nadal's long-time coach Toni believes that the Serb is the only player standing in the way of that dominance¦ and even that won't be for long.
"Honestly, I don't see any tennis player on the current scene, with the exception of Djokovic, capable of stopping Carlos unstoppable rise," he wrote.
"Djokovic does not have many years left and I think that Spanish fans will have the opportunity to enjoy many more matches and celebrate many more victories on both hot and cold Sunday afternoons.
"Djokovic demonstrated, once again, his willingness to fight and his great tennis quality. Despite being 16 years older than his rival and finding himself in an unfavourable situation, he continued to cling to the match and raised his level, adjusted his shots more and managed to prevent Carlos from closing the final without giving himself a last chance in the final set.
"Although it is true that the difference in age gave the Spaniard a certain advantage, when we reached this fifth set I thought that certainly either of the two players could win."