‘That's destiny': Carlos Alcaraz matches mind-blowing Rafael Nadal grand slam stat
Carlos Alcaraz believes the fact he and Spanish idol Rafael Nadal were both exactly the same age when they won their fifth grand slam title is 'destiny'.
Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in one of the greatest ever grand slam finals to win his second French Open, winning the title aged 22 years, one month and three days.
It is exactly the same age Nadal was when the Spaniard won his fifth grand slam by defeating Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, another of the sport's greatest ever matches.
'Honestly the coincidence of winning my fifth grand slam in the same age as Rafa Nadal, I'm going to say that's destiny, I guess,' Alcaraz said.
'I mean, it is a stat that I'm going to keep for me forever, winning the fifth grand slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspirations.
'It's a huge honor honestly. You know, hopefully it's not going to stop like this.'
Alcaraz's win over Sinner will instantly go into the record book after the Spaniard saved three championship points before winning in five hours and 29 minutes - the longest French Open final of all time.
But he said that he will leave it up to the public to decide where his win over the World No 1 Sinner would rank among the best matches ever seen when compared to classics like Federer-Nadal and Borg-McEnroe.
'If people put our match in that table, it's a huge honour for me,' Alcaraz said. 'I don't know if it is at the same level as those matches because those matches are know, the history of tennis and the history of the sport.
'I don't know if our match is in the same table as them. But just happy to put our match and our names in the history of the grand slams, in the history of Roland Garros.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
20 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bath-bound Arundell returns to England set-up
Henry Arundell has been drafted straight back into the England set-up after playing his final game for French side Racing has joined this week's four-day training camp before a potential return to Test action next 22-year-old wing, who joined Racing in 2023, has agreed a return to the Premiership with Bath for next season, making him available for England selection once again now his time in France has come to an burst on to the scene with London Irish and came off the bench to score a try on his Test debut against Australia in July Irish went into administration in June 2023 and while Arundell was given dispensation to play at the Rugby World Cup later that year, where he scored five tries in the pool-stage win over Chile, he signed a contract extension in Paris in December that made him unavailable to head coach Steve scored a hat-trick on his Racing debut, but could not maintain that rich form as the club struggled to 10th place in their most recent Top 14 England boss Stuart Lancaster was sacked as Racing head coach in January and Arundell's move to Bath marks an early end to his contract with the big-spending French scored two tries in his final game for Racing at the weekend as he returned after five months out of top-end pace will be welcomed by Borthwick with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso's speed sorely missed during the Exeter wing's time out with injury. An ability to play at full-back is also an asset as England experiment with forward-heavy benches that require versatile players in the will play a France XV at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium on Saturday, 21 June, before selecting a squad to play two Tests against Argentina and a match against the United States in July.
BBC News
21 minutes ago
- BBC News
🎧 30 years on
Some 30 years have passed since Peter Reid took charge of Sunderland to usher in a booming time in the club's team at BBC Radio Newcastle's Total Sport have had the man himself on the show and you can listen to the special episode here.
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Sessegnon was an 'enigma'
Throughout Wednesday, we are revealing who Sunderland legend Marco Gabbiadini believes are the club's most skilful players next in third place is Stephane Sessegnon. Sessegnon made almost 100 appearances for the Black Cats during his two-and-a-half-year stint at the club after signing from Paris St-Germain in 2011. During that time, he played under three different managers and scored 18 goals. His spell at Sunderland came to an end following a dispute with then-manager Paulo Di Canio. Gabbiadini told BBC Radio Newcastle that Sessegnon was inconsistent but had the ability to get the supporters on the edge of their seats. "He was an enigma - some days he could be quiet," Gabbiadini recalled. "I was a little bit down on him as consistency-wise and team-player-wise, I think he lacked a little bit. But he had the ability to have those moments where you went: 'Wow, how does he do that?'"He did have a good record at Sunderland and at other clubs as well. He had some great moments when he was at the club. "Listen on BBC Sounds - and return later for the top two!
