Carlos Alcaraz admitted Rafael Nadal’s decision to retire is tough for everyone. Nadal recently announced his retirement and the Davis Cup finals in Malaga will be his swansong tournament. 

The young Spaniard said he has always idolized Nadal and its a shame that the veteran is calling it a day. Nadal was struggling with plethora of injuries and hardly played in the last two years.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz will take on Nadal in the semifinal of the Six Kings Slam exhibition after beating Holger Rune 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday in Riyadh.

“Yeah. I watched [Rafael Nadal’s] matches since I started playing. I look up to him. I grew up watching him… He was my idol. He’s still my idol. It’s a shame he announced he’s retiring.”

“A really important person for my life, for my career. [Rafael Nadal] was one of the reasons I wanted to become a tennis player. Knowing he’s retiring is tough for everyone.

Alcaraz said he loves sharing the court with Nadal. Nadal has a 2-1 H2H record against Alcaraz.

“For me. It’s a privilege playing against him once again. It’s gonna be tough for me. I’ll enjoy sharing the court with him once again. It’s really difficult for everyone.”

Meanwhile, it is well known that Alcaraz has a lot of respect for Nadal. The Spaniard duo also teamed up for the Paris Olympics but could not go all the way to win a medal. Nadal and Alcaraz will once again play with each other for Spain in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.