Rafael Nadal has hailed the ‘Prince of Clay’ Carlos Alcaraz after the young Spaniard won his first French Open men’s singles title on Sunday.
Nadal, famously dubbed the ‘King of Clay’, was delighted to see his fellow countryman lift the trophy at the event he’s dominated for two decades.
Alcaraz, 21, still has a long way to go to match Nadal’s record haul of 14 Roland-Garros titles but his win over Alexander Zverev means he’s at least on the ladder.
Nadal crashed out of the French Open in the first round to Zverev this year – but Alcaraz secured revenge for his biggest idol – to register his third major trophy.
Alcaraz has also surpassed Nadal to become the youngest man in the Open Era to taste Grand Slam glory on all three surfaces: clay, grass and hard courts.
Nadal is over the moon for Alcaraz and retweeted an X post from the official Roland-Garros account on Sunday which read: ‘CARLOS I, PRINCE OF CLAY.’
He also quote-tweeted the post and said: ‘Congratulations Carlos Alcaraz for this immense victory!!!! Big!!!! Very happy for your successes!!!’
Nadal added a #vamos hashtag as well as an emoji of the Spanish flag amid talk of the duo playing in doubles for their country at the upcoming Olympics.
Alcaraz, speaking on the court after lifting La Coupe des Mousquetaires, said: ‘My team have been incredible the last month.
‘We were struggling a lot with the injury. Coming back from Madrid, I didn’t feel well. Coming here and not practicing too much on the court.
‘I’m grateful to have the team that I have. I know everyone in my team is giving their heart to help me improve. I call this a team but it’s a family.
‘I have loved to have part of my family here. My mum, my dad, my brother, I have loved having you here.
‘All of the support you have given to me since being a little kid. I used to watch this tournament on the TV and now I’m holding the trophy so thank you very much.’
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