Who was the better Tennis player at age 22 - Nadal or Alcaraz?
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Bill Lobsalot
Hall of Fame
We'll never know.
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
Alcaraz id have to narrowly plump for. He has won slams on all surfaces 2x now, Rafa had yet to win oin Hard court at end of 2008 at slams. Nadal did get Olympic Gold on Hard which was huge, but in fairness, in 2024 Alcaraz would have won OG if it was a best of 5 set final guaranteed. Nadal dominated Federer Djokovic and Murray at the time, Alcaraz dominates Sinner, so Nadal in terms of competition had a much tougher era as while Alcaraz dominates Djokovic at the slams (especially finals) this is the shadow of Djokovic in best of 5 set matches.
So its a very close call given Nadal had the tougher era, but for me the 2 slam wins on each surface at the biggest and most prestigious 3 slams has to tilt the scales to Alcaraz.
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
RG and AO yes. W im not sure about tbh. USO Alcaraz wins.
dking68
G.O.A.T.
What is there to be unsure about? If Nadal was able to take 3 sets from Prime Fed - who was the 5 time Wimbledon defending champ, im sure as hell he would take 3 from Alcaraz
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
Its about matchups. Rafa could even on grass bully Feder's BH. I dont think he could get the same success v Alcaraz BH nd on grass he isnt getting the spitting venom off his FH bouncing shoulder height so the ball would be in Alcaraz's strike zone on both wings and he possesses more power on both wings than Rafa did and arguably is more accomplished at the net at the same age so i think Alcaraz takes it in 5 sets.
Alcaraz the only player ive seen who mentally is as strong as Rafa. I was too young to see Borg so i dont think mentally Rafa would have an advantage in the way he did over all his career rivals.
The only way i will put Alcaraz above young Nadal if he wins 10 slams before he is 25 yo. Nadal was 25 years old in 2011 and had already won 10 slams. Carlos will be 25 in May 2028 which means he has 9 slams to play. So he has to win 4 of these 9 slams. I dont see it because in my opinion next year he will only win 1 (FO) the rest is going to Sinner. In 2027 i could see him win 2. I think at best he will sit at 9 slams most likely 8 when he is 25.
dking68
G.O.A.T.
You are delusional
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
I play the game at a reasonabaly high level so understand the nuances of matchups. Arm chair fans dont understand that and think very linearly.
It would be very close, but I just give it Alcaraz.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
Why is this an important metric who would win in direct matches?
Nadal before he won in 2009 lost to:
2005 - Hewitt
2007 - Gonzalez
2008 - Tsonga
And the Gonzalez/Tsonga matches were complete beatdowns.
StrongRule
Talk Tennis Guru
Good luck to Alcaraz winning anything against the 2008 competition.
StrongRule
Talk Tennis Guru
Lol, no, he wouldn't.
GrassMasters
Semi-Pro
Federer
accidental
Hall of Fame
The Nadal
Hawaiian grip
Professional
As much as many like to pretend things are crystal-clear here, in many ways Alcaraz has the weapons to trouble even that Rafa.
I'd say Alcaraz wins at the USO, Rafa bites his head off at RG and they have close matches at WB and the AO.
I'd say Alcaraz wins at the USO, Rafa bites his head off at RG and they have close matches at WB and the AO.
If the number of titles is similar, I don't think the breakdown matters much.
Rafa's victories felt more convincing, so I'd choose him.
Carlos has greater consistency, so that's a matter of personal preference.
I highly value the trust that Rafa could win the same number of titles even in a more competitive era.
Rafa's victories felt more convincing, so I'd choose him.
Carlos has greater consistency, so that's a matter of personal preference.
I highly value the trust that Rafa could win the same number of titles even in a more competitive era.
GRASScaraz
Hall of Fame
2025 Alca was nothing special at Wim' however his '23, '24 versions would give 2008 Ned a lot to think about on the green stuff
GRASScaraz
Hall of Fame
jimmy0slams
Semi-Pro
Clearly Alcaraz, he has more slams at 22 and is way more versatile.
Nadal perhaps would be the better clay courter, but all round tennis player Alcaraz for sure.
He will break 30 slams, it's a mathematical certainty.
Nadal perhaps would be the better clay courter, but all round tennis player Alcaraz for sure.
He will break 30 slams, it's a mathematical certainty.
gamelovergold
Hall of Fame
Rafa won against fedrer in 2008. This version of alcaraz is not at that level. Put alcaraz against roger in 2008 final and roger will win that match.
AO rafa
FO rafa
Wim rafa
US Alcaraz.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Such generosity lol
gamelovergold
Hall of Fame
Mathemetical certainity.
What a way to push alcaraz into HIGHER plane.
Hawaiian grip
Professional
This, too. Alcaraz had some weird results at the AO but I got the feeling people read too much into then and think this is the ssme Alcaraz that crapped the bed vs Novak or Zverev. It would surprise if he didn't at least make the final in the upcoming AO.
I think he's generally a better HC player than Rafa was at his age.
aldeayeah
G.O.A.T.
It will have to be pretty damn good to make us question 2009 AO.
alexio
Hall of Fame
basically it doesnt even matter even with reaching the final and by some miracle winning vs 09 nadal in five sets, even in that unlikely scenario nadal still wins overall (difference in sets won-lost ratio)
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
Peak Tsonga was better than 37-year-old Djokovic.
Federer, from set 3 to 5, played better at Wimbledon 2008 than Sinner did at Wimbledon 2025.
Murray, 21, played better in the 2008 US Open semifinals than Sinner, 24, in the 2025 US Open final.
Against Gonzalez he played injured and Tsonga had the match of his life, everything went phenomenally for him that time.
It was much better to lose to someone who was excellent than to lose to someone who was almost 38 years old and had mobility problems, that was embarrassing.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
That maybe, but he should be allowed the opportunity. His level at USO 2025 was one of the highest we have seen there. No reason to think he cannot replicate it in AO also.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Well he hasn't made an AO final yet, you never know
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
I also don't think it's fair to compare their performances at the US Open at the same age.
While Nadal arrived very tired to compete in the US Open, Alcaraz arrived fresh to the same GS tournament, both 22 years old.
Nadal had just played in the Olympic Games and despite this, he reached the semifinals, losing a 4-set match to one of the two (or three) best versions of Murray in NY.
Without that handicap, he would have fought for the title and would have had a good chance of winning it.
We saw what happened to Alcaraz the season he played the US Open after competing in the Olympic Games in Paris; it didn't go well for him at all.
While Nadal arrived very tired to compete in the US Open, Alcaraz arrived fresh to the same GS tournament, both 22 years old.
Nadal had just played in the Olympic Games and despite this, he reached the semifinals, losing a 4-set match to one of the two (or three) best versions of Murray in NY.
Without that handicap, he would have fought for the title and would have had a good chance of winning it.
We saw what happened to Alcaraz the season he played the US Open after competing in the Olympic Games in Paris; it didn't go well for him at all.
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
From the way the question is structured, it looks like the comparison is between the seasons in which each player turned 22 to ensure the full calendar is represented in the proper order.
StrongRule
Talk Tennis Guru
Still, wouldn't stand a chance if he had to face 2008 Federer there.
StrongRule
Talk Tennis Guru
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Possibly, but Nadal was completely schooled by Tsonga at AO 2008. Not exactly a money in the bank win over Alcaraz, maybe an edge.
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
AO: The other way around .
RG: 10-0.
USO: 7-3 Alcaraz , only because Nadal arrived in NY in a physically compromised condition after playing in the Olympic Games in Beijing, something that did not happen to Alcaraz this season.
Only in Wimbledon is your deduction correct.
StrongRule
Talk Tennis Guru
If 2008 Nadal played 2025 Alcaraz 10 times in RG, he probably wouldn't have dropped a set in any of these matches.AO: The other way around .
RG: 10-0.
USO: 7-3 Alcaraz , only because Nadal arrived in NY in a physically compromised condition after playing in the Olympic Games in Beijing, something that did not happen to Alcaraz this season.
Only in Wimbledon is your deduction correct.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Why do you think that? Didn't Andreev push Federer to five sets there?
StrongRule
Talk Tennis Guru
Just as Anderson pushed Djokovic to five sets in Wimbledon 2015, which doesn't stop you from calling that his highest ever level on grass. That was in the fourth round.
I'd expect Alcaraz to fight better than Murray did obviously, but Federer should get it done in 4 sets.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Alcaraz displayed a very good level in the final, he was clicking, to say he would have no chance is a stretch. Federer beat a Murray who looked like a deer in the headlights in the final.
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
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