‘Carlos Alcaraz looks like Rafael Nadal but he has more speed’, says ATP star
Former world No 4 Kei Nishikori has claimed Carlos Alcaraz “looks like” Rafael Nadal, but believes the 20-year-old star has “more speed” than his legendary compatriot.
Nishikori revealed the prospect of facing “great young players” like Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner is part of his motivation to play for “a few more years.”
Having been sidelined through injury since October 2021, the 33-year-old won the Palmas Del Mar Challenger on his return to action last month.
The Japanese reached the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 tournament in Atlanta this week in his first appearance at a tour event since his comeback. The current world No 439 will next compete at the ATP 500 event in Washington next week.
World No 1 Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final to claim his second major title earlier this month. The Spaniard has been compared to each of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer by various observers since his emergence.
In an interview with ATPTour.com, Nishikori likened Alcaraz to 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal and lauded the qualities he possesses.
“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. That’s part of my motivation to try to play for a few more years,” said the 33-year-old.
“I don’t think we have seen anyone like Alcaraz before. He looks like Rafa but he has more speed. Good defence, unbelievable forehand and he has a good backhand too.”
Nishikori also discussed the surgery he had on his hip and touched on comparisons with Andy Murray, who underwent hip resurfacing surgery following an initial hip operation.
“My hip was not too bad, not like Andy. 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,” explained the former US Open finalist.
“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.
“One of my biggest doubts was whether I would be able to move like I used to. And also that you lose the feeling for the ball on the racquet and you have zero confidence. You’ve got to build again from zero, so it’s a tough mental challenge.”
READ MORE: Kei Nishikori on his emotional ATP return: ‘I’m just so happy to be back’
