"Burning with nothing but cold, hard facts" - Carlos Alcaraz being closer to Nadal than Spaniard is to Novak Djokovic in World No. 1 weeks shocks fans

Carlos Alcaraz being closer in weeks as World No. 1 to Rafael Nadal than the 22-time Grand Slam champion is to Novak Djokovic has garnered hilarious reactions from tennis fans worldwide.

Nadal first topped the ATP rankings in August 2008, after winning the Olympic gold medal in Beijing. He also concluded the year as No. 1 for the first time in his career.

Since then, the Spaniard has held the top rank for a total of 209 weeks. However, when compared to his arch-rival Novak Djokovic, it is far from outstanding.

Djokovic first became World No. 1 in July 2011 after defeating his Spanish rival in the Wimbledon final in a four-set thriller, 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, which would be remembered for ages.

Since then, the Serb has held the top ranking for 392 weeks so far, making him the only tennis player in history to do so. He broke Steffi Graf's previous record of 377 weeks at the pinnacle of the sport just this year.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz has made quite a name for himself in the past two years. The young Spaniard has won two Grand Slam titles and became the World No. 1 after last year's US Open, the first teenager in ATP history to do so.

He has stayed at the top spot for 36 weeks, and could have held it longer if Novak Djokovic had not taken it away from him at the 2023 US Open.

In terms of the aforementioned context, the gap between the older Spaniard and Djokovic is 183 weeks, while the gap between Alcaraz and his compatriot is only 173.

Tennis fans took to X (formerly Twitter) in view of this and shared their hilarious reactions to the stat shared by Eurosport. One user wrote:

"Eurosport burning nadal and his minions with nothing but cold, hard facts."

Another person found it humorous and assumed Eurosport was making fun of Nadal, who is currently the World No. 240 after being sidelined since the Australian Open in January.

"Lool, even Eurosport made fun of World No.240," the user wrote.

Another account posted:

"Eurosport bodied Claydull."

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

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Carlos Alcaraz set to establish an academy in his hometown following in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal

The Spanish duo pictured at the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open

Now that Carlos Alcaraz has established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the tennis court, he is ready to embark on a new journey, mirroring the path of his idol, Rafael Nadal.

According to sources from Spain, the World No. 2 may establish a tennis academy in his hometown of Murcia with the help of his father, Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez, vice president of the Real Sociedad Club de Campo de Murcia.

Meanwhile, the 22-time Grand Slam champion already has a tennis academy in Mallorca called the Rafa Nadal Academy. Stars like Felix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud, Bianca Andreescu, and former World No. 1 Andy Murray have all been spotted training here.