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Rafael Nadal's definitive answer on who he is rooting for in Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz final: ‘If Novak wins…’
Rafael Nadal has history with Djokovic and connection with Alcaraz – but he has one favourite heading into the Australian Open final.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic fought through a pair of blockbuster five-set matches in their respective semifinals, and are now set for a headline cross-generational encounter in the final of the Australian Open with history on the line for both.
Alcaraz is going for seventh grand slam title, but one that would make him the youngest player to complete the career grand slam by winning all four major tournaments. There is arguably more on the line for Djokovic as he guns for a record 25th grand slam – going where no player, man or woman, has gone before in the open era.
Fans will have their favourites regarding who they are rooting for, but one man who might have a slight conflict of interest is Rafael Nadal. Djokovic’s great rival and close friend but Alcaraz’s countryman and rival, Nadal was asked by ABC Sport in Australia who he will be rooting for in the prizefight on Sunday at the Rod Laver Arena.
“In some way, with Novak we had an amazing story, with all those years competing for the most important things, and I wish him all the very best, but of course Carlos is from my country, I have a good relationship with him, we shared the Olympic Games together, we shared the Spanish team,” explained Nadal.
‘Will not be a drama for me…’
“And I mean, if Novak wins, I will be happy for him, because in some ways, quite spectacular what he's doing at this stage of his career, so I will be happy. It will not be a drama for me, but if I have to support someone, I mean, I have to support I feel to Carlos,” concluded the Spaniard great.
Djokovic had a narrow 31-29 lead over Nadal in their long and combative head-to-head, one of the most iconic and tight rivalries in tennis history. However, towards the back-end of his career, the Spaniard spent a fairly significant amount of time with Alcaraz.
They paired up for the Paris Olympics doubles at Roland Garros, Nadal’s favourite hunting grounds, before also teaming up for Spain in the Davis Cup later in 2024 before Nadal’s retirement from the sport.
Nadal has therefore given a fairly straightforward assessment of who he wants as the victor of the victor in the final – but as an overall figure, there is no doubt that there will be just as many rooting for Djokovic as there are for his younger counterpart.
