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Spanish teenager wins ATP Tour debut in Rio on Monday
Carlos Alcaraz cites Rafael Nadal as his tennis idol and his heavy topspin groundstrokes could be viewed as a tribute. But the 16-year-old Spaniard sees his game more closely resembling another ATP Tour legend.

”I like to play very aggressively, with a lot of winners. My style is more or less like Roger Federer’s, aggressively coming to the net and playing a lot of drop shots,” Alcaraz said.

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Alcaraz has already accomplished something that Federer could not: winning his ATP Tour debut. The 16-year-old defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Monday at the Rio Open presented by Claro, outlasting the veteran Spaniard in a third-set tie-break that finished at 3:00am after three hours and 36 minutes.

He made fans sit up and take notice with his outstanding play, pushing Ramos-Vinolas around the baseline for much of their clash. Alcaraz tirelessly chased down balls in the early morning hours and held his nerve to close out the biggest moment of his fledgling career.

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The 16-year-old has largely eschewed junior tournaments for pro events and has already made noise on the ATP Challenger Tour. Last year, the then-15-year-old defeated reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner at a Challenger in Alicante, becoming the first player born in the year 2003 to win a match at that level. The following week in Murcia, he became just the fifth player aged 15-and-under in the past 20 years to defeat a Top 200 player.

Alcaraz’s talent was quickly noticed by former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who now coaches the young Spaniard. Ferrero is confident that his pupil could soon find himself in the mix as a contender for the biggest titles on the ATP Tour.

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“He’s only 16 and he’s just starting to travel the world. He has the level, the speed, he’s getting better physically every day, so I think he can be one of the best,” Ferrero said. “I don’t know how high, but I think he can be up there in two or three years. I have a lot of experience with what he is going to deal with, [so] I’m giving him the best advice that I can.”

Alcaraz has been soaking in the week in Rio, making the most of his training sessions with top players and viewing his match with Ramos-Vinolas as an invaluable learning experience. The modest teenager is content to listen for now, preferring to let his racquet do the talking when he steps on court.

”When I spend time with tennis greats like Rafa or Ferrero or any other player, I don't say anything. I listen to everything they say because it is very valuable to me,” Alcaraz said. “In each tournament I go to, I try to do my best. If that happens, then I will gradually go up.”

This week's breakout teens Carlos Alcaraz and Brandon Nakashima cut their teeth on the ATP Challenger Tour in recent months
It was one of the more raucous, riveting scenes of 2019. Thousands of fans were screaming in full throat as a 16-year-old Carlos Alcaraz stood on Center Court at the Copa Sevilla. The line extended for blocks outside the tournament site as they hoped to catch a glimpse of their much-hyped native son.

With the sangria flowing, they danced, sang and screamed even louder. In other words, it was your typical Thursday evening on the ATP Challenger Tour in Spain.

Ranked outside the Top 500 at the time, Alcaraz soaked up the energy and emotion from his countrymen, vaulting to a surprise quarter-final appearance. It was on that day in September that Alcaraz became the youngest player to reach the last eight of a Challenger since Felix Auger-Aliassime in 2015. Having primarily focused on junior tournaments last year, the Spaniard took the next step at the Challenger level on only six occasions. But he would make the most of those opportunities.

At that age, signature victories over in-form players like Jannik Sinner, Christopher O'Connell and Pedro Martinez, can inject a surge of confidence and momentum for the coming weeks and months. And for Alcaraz, the ability to compete in front of legions of Spaniards proved to be equally as critical in his early development.

For someone as young as Alcaraz, playing in such an electric atmosphere akin to a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 event, can serve as essential preparation for life at the next level. Flash forward to this week and Alcaraz was meeting World No. 41 Albert Ramos-Vinolas at the Rio Open presented by Claro. What did the 16-year-old identify as a source of confidence in his ATP Tour debut? His time on the ATP Challenger Tour.

"Those experiences helped me a lot, to become more comfortable in big matches like these," said Alcaraz. "They helped me to manage the nerves. I remember that in those tournaments I was very nervous. There were some matches that made me doubt how I was performing, but those moments made me learn to just enjoy the moment. That removed the nerves."


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Carlos! Carlos!

The crowd is going crazy for Carlos Alcaraz in Sevilla, as the 16-year-old becomes the youngest to reach a quarter-final since a 14-year-old @felixtennis in 2015.

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Alcaraz says the biggest lesson learned on the Challenger circuit has been managing his nerves in the big moments. That was on full display on Tuesday, as he edged Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(2), capturing his ATP Tour debut after nearly four hours on court. It was a rollercoaster affair that saw the Juan Carlos Ferrero pupil battle back from 0-3 down in the deciding set. For a 16-year-old to remain composed and relaxed in such a moment is a testament to the work he has put in at the lower level.

"Those matches taught me how to let things go on the court and stay in the moment. The small things like breathing and relaxing in the right moments are important. Just managing the moments in the right way."

Up to a projected career-high in the Top 350 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, Alcaraz will look to continue finding that spark at the Challenger level over the coming months. There are consecutive tournaments on home soil in Madrid, Marbella, Murcia and Villena in March and April.


For Nakashima, it has been a rather similar experience. The 18-year-old took a different path than his Spanish counterpart, initially opting for the college route. The American turned pro after a successful freshman season at the University of Virginia and, like Alcaraz, enjoyed immediate success on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2019.

Poised for a breakout 2020 campaign, Nakashima has already thrust himself into the spotlight. Making his ATP Tour debut, he is into the quarter-finals at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com. Guaranteed to rise inside the Top 260 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, the unseeded wild card has defeated Jiri Vesely and Cameron Norrie without dropping a set.

If you've been following Nakashima in recent months, this should be of little surprise. If you haven't, here's all you need to know about the American teen with the steely resolve and relentless drive...

Flashback just two weeks ago, when Nakashima was making a charge at the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas. If there was ever a turning point for a young player in search of confidence and belief, look no further than this.

Competing in just the ninth Challenger event of his young career and facing his biggest foe yet, top seed Frances Tiafoe, it proved to be a seminal moment for the American on a Thursday night. Crowds in Dallas are notoriously packed throughout the week, and with NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki in the house, Nakashima and Tiafoe put on a show under the lights at T Bar M Racquet Club.

An air of tension filled Stadium court, as the Americans traded blows for two hours and 18 minutes. Neither was willing to concede an inch, as Tiafoe battled from a set and a break down to prevail 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5. It was counterpunch after counterpunch, with a bevy of baseline bombs exchanged throughout the encounter and Nakashima's steely resolve on full display.


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Last night, we were all witnesses as Brandon Nakashima introduced himself in Dallas.

The 18-year-old announced his arrival in grand fashion, in defeat to Frances Tiafoe. Poise and focus beyond his years...

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The 18-year-old admitted he was quite disappointed after the match, but he understands that gritty encounters like these can only help him as he looks to progress beyond the Challenger level.

"What I'm doing doesn't really surprise me, to be honest," said Nakashima. "I know I have a good game and can compete with all these guys. Even before I went to college, I had that mindset. It's just all about having these experiences, getting more mature and physically bigger and stronger."

Nakashima did not back down from the Tiafoe test, even as his opponent repeatedly fought back in the second set and deep in the third. Where many 18-year-olds would acquiesce at the first sign of resistance, Nakashima is wired differently. You can call him a machine or just a teenager with an incredibly dialed-in temperament, but regardless, that attitude is paying dividends as he begins to battle the established pros.

"All my coaches have always told me that I'm playing my best when I'm aggressive. I just try to be myself on the court. I'm always going to attack on both my forehand and backhand, come to the net as much as possible and use a lot of variety in my game. That is who I am."

With former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash joining his coaching team this week in Delray Beach, Nakashima will look to go one step further when he faces Yoshihito Nishioka in Friday's quarter-finals.

Former World No. 1 Ferrero discusses his relationship with Alcaraz, his pupil
#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 16, broke through on the ATP Tour in February, beating 2017 Monte-Carlo finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Rio de Janeiro 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(2) to become the youngest player to win an ATP 500 match in series history (since 2009) and the youngest Spaniard to win an ATP Tour match since Rafael Nadal at 2002 Mallorca.

Alcaraz is coached by former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who spoke to ATPTour.com about what it’s like to work with a rising star, which current stars Alcaraz plays like, and more.

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Since you didn’t start competing in ATP events until your later teens, how interesting is it to see how well Carlos has competed at only 16?
The thing is, he always was competing against guys who were older. He’s used to playing against people older than him. So now, even the match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Rio, the guy was 32 and he’s 16, and obviously the most important thing for him is that he improved physically very much. That’s why he can stay in the match for three and a half hours and he can play against guys who are older than him.

How did you get to know Carlos? Did he come to your academy or did you see him at a tournament?
I saw him here at the JC Ferrero-Equelite Sports Academy playing a tournament. We have a lot of tournaments here at the academy. I saw him for the first time playing a tournament and it helps that he lives very close to the academy in Murcia, just an hour from here. So it was very easy seeing him play some matches.

I remember him playing a Futures when he was 14 and he got his first [FedEx] ATP Ranking point. I went to see some matches and I heard about this little boy who was playing at such a good level at the age of 14, so I drove over there to watch him. His agent is the same as Pablo Carreno Busta’s, and Carreno is here practising at the academy, so it helps to have a good relationship with him at the end to get him into this team.

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For those who haven’t seen Carlos play, how would you describe his game style and is there a player who he plays similarly to?
He likes to be very aggressive all the time. He likes to play close to the baseline. He’s not the typical player who only plays on clay courts. He likes to play on hard courts and he loves to play on grass. He played last year for the first time on grass and he loved it. He loves to finish points at the net.

At the beginning, when I first met him, I almost was sure that his best level was on clay, but I think now he’s improving so much on hard court and I think he can even give a little bit more level on hard court, so that’s very good. He’s playing very aggressive from the baseline and he needs to improve a little bit his serve. But for 16, he’s serving well.

If I have to say someone that I can compare him to, it’s the game of Novak Djokovic or maybe Roger Federer. They like to be aggressive from the baseline and they can go to the net to finish the point.


How do you balance when you or someone else tells him of such a comparison, while not allowing it to get to his head?
Usually he hears people who say he is going to be the next Rafael Nadal... of course, it’s going to be difficult for him to [keep things] normal and stay calm and not tell me, ‘Why are they saying this to me?’

But he’s a little bit used to it, because most of the people here in Spain, they come to him many times and tell him he’s going to be the next Rafa Nadal. Finally, I think he’s used to it and he put it away and he goes his own way to always work very hard and to try to make his own career.

Of course, the comparison is going to be there because for people here in Spain, it’s been a long time that we haven’t had anyone at the age of 16 or 17 [playing] this kind of level. But the team that is around him, we have to try to [keep a circle] around him to help him try to put this pressure away, to make him calm, to keep things normal, so he can go his own way.

Andy Roddick has said something he looks for in younger players is easy power. Do you think Carlos has that?
In his performance on the court, he has very fast hands. He plays from the backhand and the forehand very strong all the time. He’s very quickly going with the ball on the court, and that’s why he can play at a very high rhythm against these guys.

In Rio we were practising with Lajovic, Carballes [Baena], even Thiem, and he’s one of the guys who can play at the same rhythm as the player on the other side of the court any time. This helps a lot for him to play against them.


How rare is that attribute for someone Carlos’ age?
It’s very rare. Obviously you cannot find that many people who are 16 and can play that kind of level that easy going. A year and a half before he was playing juniors and he didn’t see many boys that had the game that Carlos has. That’s why maybe Carlos is at this level now.

Does Carlos look at guys like Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner for motivation given how much success they’ve had at a young age?
Of course he thinks a little bit about it. Obviously the motivation that he has is to play these kinds of tournaments and these kinds of matches. It’s very important to him to be very motivated and one of the big reasons to increase his level very much is the team that he has around him. He has an unbelievable team around him that helps him to stay motivated every day and try to work a little bit different than people at his age, to help him to be a professional on the court. I think that’s very important.

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What has he improved the most since you first met him?
Mentally. I think he has taken a big step up, because when I first met him, he was 14. Now he’s almost 17, so I think mentally he grew up a little bit. Physically, of course, he’s a little bit stronger than when I met him for the first time. But I think his mental game is what he improved the most.

Knowing that you still play tennis a lot, do you ever jump on court with Carlos as sort of a test?
I've hit with him many times and I play some matches against him, to have some fun together. I stay every day on the court and I can see the big difference in how much he’s improved since last year. But obviously we have fun when we play some matches.

Do you get nervous watching Carlos compete and if so how nervous?
Of course I’m nervous, because when you are working with someone every day and you are after some goals that you put on the table at the beginning of the year you want him to reach those goals. Obviously when he’s in the match I’m a little bit nervous. As a player, I tried to be calm, but of course inside of me I have some big nerves [watching him].