“Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz Denies Being a Rafael Nadal Substitute”

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, ranked second in the world, stressed that he is not a “substitute” for compatriot Rafael Nadal on the evening of his retention of the Barcelona International Tennis Championship title on Sunday.

Alcaraz, 19, devoted his superiority to Stefanos Tsitsipas when he beat him 6-3, 6-4 to retain the title, achieving his fourth victory over the Greek in the same number of confrontations, and the second in the Catalan tournament after the first in the quarter-finals of last year.

“I don’t want to be a substitute for anyone,” said the young Spaniard, who is considered the most prominent candidate to succeed “Rafa” in the French Roland Garros championship, winning her title 14 times.

Alcaraz’s status was enhanced by the deteriorating health of his 36-year-old compatriot, who was injured at the Australian Open in January and has not played since. Nadal, crowned with 22 major titles, withdrew from the Madrid Masters 1000 tournament, which begins next week, to raise doubts about his participation in the French Open, the second Grand Slam tournament.

Alcaraz added after winning his ninth title in his career, “I am not here to take anyone’s place, but to build my own history.”

He continued, “I was lucky to win the title (in Barcelona) this year and last year when Rafa was not present,” stressing, “I always wanted to play against the best.”

Alcaraz expressed his regret that “he was not happy about the absence of Rafa over the past two years in Barcelona,” and said, “Let’s hope that he continues to play for a long time and that we enjoy his practice of tennis.”