Rafael Nadal names two players who can surpass him, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal recently named the two players who he believes possess the potential of surpassing his, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic's legacy. The two young stars, named by the Spaniard, are currently the stand-out performers from the newest generation of tennis superstars.

The three aforementioned tennis legends, called by fans as the Big 3, completely re-scripted the tennis history books with their decades of dominance at the top of the game. The three men share unparalleled accolades among them, including 66 Majors, four Olympic Golds, 1000+ weeks of holding the World No. 1 ranking, and many others.

However, the year 2024 saw a very important shift in men's tennis as it was the first year since 2003 when none of the members of the Big 3 won a Grand Slam. During a recent conversation, the now-retired Nadal said that it was possible for the upcoming generation of players to match and even surpass the Big 3's legacy.

Interestingly, he named Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the two men who swept all the Majors in 2024, as the biggest contenders.

"If we've done it, others can do it, and things are there to be overcome. Obviously, there are two players who are above the rest: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and there were three of us for almost too many years. Thanks to the demands we set for each other, we've made our careers something that was difficult to imagine years ago, and now new generations are coming who will fight to surpass us," he told Eurosport.

When the two men had just burst onto the scene, the 22-time Major champion had multiple matches against both of them.

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How Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner fared against Rafael Nadal

The two Spaniards ahead of their clash at the Six Kings Slam 2024 - Source: Getty

Rafael Nadal played both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner three times in his career. He holds a 2-1 lead against the former and a 3-0 lead against the latter.

He played Alcaraz at the Madrid Masters in 2021 for the first time and clinched a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 win. They next played in the semifinal of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters with the 38-year-old winning the thrilling contest 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. However, Alcaraz got his revenge at the 2022 Madrid Masters, defeating his idol 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion also faced Alcaraz in two exhibition events, both of which were won by the four-time Grand Slam champion.

On the other hand, Nadal and Sinner met for the first time in the quarterfinals of the 2020 French Open where the Spaniard won 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1. The two then met twice in 2021 at the Italian Open and then the French Open, with Nadal winning the matches 7-5, 6-4 and 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 respectively.