With the Laver Cup over, the focus has moved on to the Asian season and the Davis Cup, in which Carlos Alcaraz could play again with Rafael Nadal. However, the four-time Grand Slam champion took time to reflect on his rivalry with Sinner, and the expectation that they can be the successors of the ‘Big Three.’
“Well a lot of people talk about it and I hear it. I’m not going to lie, I hope so. I hope that our rivalry is going to be or almost be like the Big Three had during their whole careers,” Alcaraz told the press after Team Europe clinched another Laver Cup trophy.
“I don’t know. This is the first year that we shared all the Grand Slams. Hopefully it’s going to keep going like that, sharing great moments, fighting for the great tournaments, the Grand Slams, Masters 1000. So let’s see how it’s going to be in the future, the next few years, if we are going to stay like that at this level,” he continued.
Alcaraz also said that he hopes to “create a relationship off court as well,” something that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer managed to do, despite both being fierce competitors. Recently, Federer even gave Nadal advice on retirement.
“So hopefully I have him here on the tour for a long time because he pushes me to be a better player every day. He pushes me to practice at 100% just to try to beat him in the next matches,” the Spaniard added.
Alcaraz is set to play the final phase of the 2024 Davis Cup
Alcaraz is part of Spain’s squad for the final phase of the 2024 Davis Cup, which will be played on between 19-24 November. He is joined by Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreño Busta, and Marcel Granollers.
The rest of the teams qualified for the Davis Cup quarterfinals include Italy, led by Sinner, Australia, Germany, Canada, Netherlands and the United States. The US team consists of Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.