Jul 27, 2024; Paris, France; Rafael Nadal (ESP) and Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) celebrate defeating Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) and Andres Molteni (ARG) in a men's tennis doubles match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Roland Garros.

tennis

Carlos Alcaraz Shows Massive Respect to Rafael Nadal After 2025 Monte Carlo Masters Win: “One of the Greatest Things in All of Sport”

The Spaniard is the youngest Monte Carlo winner since Nadal in 2008.

After capturing his first ever ATP Monte Carlo Masters trophy on Sunday, new World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz heaped praise on his legendary compatriot Rafael Nadal. Alcaraz defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in a three set come-from-behind win, dominating his opponent in the final two sets. In the process, he claimed his sixth ATP Masters-1000 trophy.

Starting his 2025 season with a mildly underwhelming outing in terms of trophies, Carlos Alcaraz reigned supreme at the Principality – with wins over the likes of Musetti, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Arthur Fils and Francisco Cerundolo. He took the championship away from defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is a three-time champion at the Monaco-based event.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal is unsurprisingly the most successful player at this illustrious event. And after his grand success in Sunday’s marquee final, Alcaraz laid out that it would be “impossible” to match a key record of the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

Carlos Alcaraz Reveals the “Impossible” Stat That Sets Rafael Nadal on a Level Above

Rafael Nadal has won 11 trophies at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters – including eight consecutive titles between 2005-2012. It remains one of the most dominant runs in tennis, and perhaps all of sport. “Thinking about 11 [titles] is impossible,” stated ‘Carlitos’ in his press conference after winning his first title on Court Rainier III. Having grown up following and idolising Nadal, the four-time major champion knows that the southpaw had to scale en route to leaving behind the legacy that he eventually did.

“Honestly, I’ve been talking with my team several times that what Rafa did on clay was probably one of the most difficult things to do in sport, and one of the greatest things that he has done – not in tennis, but [in] all of sport.” Nadal and Alcaraz also teamed up at the 2024 Paris Olympics in men’s doubles, but fell in the quarterfinal stage.

Carlos Alcaraz becomes the first Spanish man to win Monte Carlo since Rafa Nadal in 2018.

Proud. 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/92E29ACdGF
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 13, 2025

In addition to his unthinkable 11 titles in Monte Carlo, Nadal is the titleist at Roland Garros on 14 separate occasions. As Russian star Karen Khachanov described it, it’s like playing someone on a PlayStation because you never get a free point – every single ball comes back. “I just got my first one, and obviously I’m gonna miss this guy [Nadal]. I just want to keep going,” continued the 21-year-old.

Alcaraz Pulls Off Dominant Comeback Over Musetti in Monte Carlo Final

In a high stakes higher rewards final on Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz beat Lorenzo Musetti 3-6 6-1 6-0 after an early start. However, it was Musetti who started on a vibrant note, cornering his opponent with some ferocious groundstrokes. On the other hand, the Spaniard made far too many errors and it was too late to pull the set back into his control. The single-handed backhand virtuoso landed the first blow.

When the second set began, it seemed like the tide had finally turned. His forehand having more oomph on it, paired with the fact that Musetti began struggling with some physical issues, spelled doom for the 23-year-old Olympic bronze medalist. Within no time, Alcaraz overcame the deficit and emerged victorious in front of a raucous Court Rainier III crowd.

“I am really happy to win Monte Carlo for the first time. It has been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations,” admitted Carlos after his win. This was the second Masters-1000 final of the season between two players born in the 2000s. Additionally, it happened to be Alcaraz’s first Masters tournament win in 13 months, and third on clay.

Climbing back up to No. 2 on the ATP Rankings and chasing Jannik Sinner at the top, can Carlos Alcaraz help his own cause by retaining his Roland Garros trophy this year? Only time will tell.

ATP

ATP Masters 1000

Carlos Alcaraz

Lorenzo Musetti

Monte Carlo Masters

Paris Olympics

Rafael Nadal

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.