Prime Rafa? Sleeveless Rafa? He straight up beats this guy," Isner's podcast debates Alcaraz and Nadal
The day after Alcaraz’s memorable victory at Roland-Garros, many observers claimed the Spaniard would have been the favorite against his compatriot Nadal on clay. On the *Nothing Major* podcast, Querrey, Sock, Isner, and Johnson debated the topic:
Querrey: "I don’t know... I think I’d take Alcaraz over Rafa, but I hate saying that."
Johnson: "Oh, that’s crazy."
Isner: "It’s not crazy to think these guys could’ve beaten Rafa at some point, but they certainly wouldn’t be the favorites."
Sock: "Prime Rafa? Sleeveless Rafa? He straight up beats this guy."
Querrey: "No, get out of here, man. Rafa’s never played against someone who hits the ball like Carlos."
Sock: "They don’t hit the ball like Rafa. In his prime, Rafa was crushing heavy forehands—they don’t return the ball like that. Sure, they play from the baseline, obviously they all hit the ball incredibly, but it’s all about style. Rafa does things differently. Rafa crushes heavy forehands with intensity, while they’re behind the baseline and don’t return every ball consistently point after point.
