Carlos Alcaraz follows Rafa Nadal's lead... in his own way: he brushes aside criticism following his documentary and defends his model.

The years go by, tennis evolves, and... a Spaniard remains on the throne of Roland Garros . Now it's the turn of the once prince, now king,Carlos Alcaraz , worthy successor to Rafa Nadal . He's been criticized for his methods, but he's known for doing things "his way," and the data leaves no room for doubt : his future is meteoric.

There's little left to prove for a young man who, at 22, doesn't know what fear of pressure is . Just ask someone capable of saving three match points against Jannik Sinner , his great rival, and ending up celebrating the victory with his back to the clay of the Philippe Chatrier after five and a half hours of play.

The Murcia-born tennis player arrived at his title defense under scrutiny. The reason: a documentary about his outlook on life that many used to question his professionalism . Brave as ever, the protagonist stood his ground, stood his ground, and defended his model even in front of the person to whom he owes the most accountability, his coach and mentor, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

"He finds himself with three match points against him, looks at us, and punches us. It can't be," the coach himself recounted, recalling the most difficult moment of the final in the on-court interview.

Even the man who has watched him grow up is capable of surprising Carlos Alcaraz, who invites us to dream with a unique fact . Rafa Nadal was 22 years, one month, and three days old when he won his fifth Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2008, in the so-called "match of the century." The same age as the Murcian in the tremendous display put on by the Spaniard and the Italian this past Sunday in Paris, which already competes with the best finals in history.

This isn't the only record that puts him on par with the greatest athlete in the history of our country. At the same age, he comes close to achieving the same victory percentage (80.1% to Nadal's 81.2%) and surpasses him in others . Alcaraz wins in the number of weeks spent as world No. 1 (36, when Rafa hadn't reached that level yet) and the percentage of victories in Grand Slam finals (100% compared to Nadal's 71%).

In any case, Carlos Alcaraz insists on doing it his way, not like Rafa Nadal, who at his age had played more matches, won more titles (28 to the Murcian's 20) and had already won his first Davis Cup – of five he would add up to in total – with La Armada.

His family vacation after losing in Miami earned him a barrage of criticism. Even more so were the images from Ibiza—he's currently on a three-day vacation there—following his 2024 Roland Garros victory, which were broadcast in his documentary. Few would dare , after thrilling the entire planet, to deny him the chance to uncork a champagne . He does it his way, which isn't Nadal's, because he's simply not Rafa Nadal. Sunday wasn't a 'Nadalada,' it was an 'Alcarazada,' but the joy was the same.