French tennis player Richard Gasquet thinks it is not possible to compare any player at the French Open to Rafael Nadal, not even teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz.
Nadal, who will turn 36 next months, is a record 13-time French Open champion.
Nadal captured his first French Open title when he was just 18 and the rest is history.
On the other side, 19-year-old Alcaraz is hoping to become a Grand Slam champion this fortnight at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz has accomplished some pretty impressive things before turning 19 – winning a Masters and breaking into the top-10 in the world.
Now, the 19-year-old is determined to land his maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open.
“Alcaraz stronger than Nadal? Impossible. At his age, Nadal had already won Roland-Garros twice,” Gasquet said, per Sportskeeda. “That won’t happen again. He is already extremely strong, that’s for sure! But when you win 13 times there is not even a comparison possible.”
🎾 Gasquet : “Alcaraz plus fort que Nadal ? Impossible. Ă€ son âge, Nadal avait dĂ©jĂ gagnĂ© deux fois Roland-Garros. Ça n’arrivera plus. Il est dĂ©jĂ extrĂŞmement fort, c’est clair ! Mais quand tu gagnes 13 fois Roland-Garros, il n’y a mĂŞme pas de comparaison possible.”
— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) May 25, 2022
Gasquet ended his French Open campaign
On Wednesday, Gasquet’s French Open run ended following a second round defeat versus Sebastian Korda.
USA’s Korda didn’t have much problems versus Gasquet, beating the Frenchman 7-6 (5) 6-3 6-3.
Korda blew an early first set break and the opened had to be decided in a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Korda opened a 6-2 lead and clinched four consecutive set points.
Korda missed out on his first three set points but converted the fourth to win a tight opener.
After winning the first set, Korda earned the first break of the second set in the second game, but got broken back in the fifth game.
Blowing an early second set break didn’t impact Korda, who broke Gasquet again in the eighth game and served out for a two-set lead in the following game.
Gasquet led 3-2 after the opening five games of the third set, before Korda claimed back-to-back breaks and won four games in a row to complete a straight-set win in style.