Nadal, not really surprised by Alcaraz's triumph: "For me, he was the great favourite".

Rafael Nadal is still the talk of the town. The Spaniard, a fourteen-time French Open champion, is still a fan favourite. Since his return to competition in Barcelona, he has continued to grow in stature and has set ever more ambitious goals, recently announcing his sights on a medal at the Paris Olympics.

Although he doesn't seem ready to put away his rackets, the Majorcan nonetheless agreed to talk about the performances of his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. Commenting on the level of play put in by the latest French Open winner, Nadal was full of praise: "I'm happy for him and his family. He's an incredible player and a good person. For me, he was the great favorite. I felt that if Carlos played at his level, without necessarily being incredibly good, he would be difficult to beat.

He's the one with the greatest ability to play in different ways. And on clay, that makes all the difference: he can play aggressively, defend, reverse the rally in different ways. The other players in the top 10 are incredible, of course, but on clay, they have a few fewer options than he does."