Carlos Alcaraz has commented on Rafael Nadal’s absence from the Laver Cup this week, with the Spaniard hoping that they can reunite as part of the Spanish Davis Cup team later this year.

Alcaraz is currently in Berlin to make his Laver Cup debut as part of Team Europe, alongside Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Grigor Dimitrov.

However, Nadal was originally set to be part of this team before withdrawing last week, making way for the aforementioned Dimitrov.

And in an interview with Marca, Alcaraz admitted his disappointment for Nadal’s absence, “It would have been super special to repeat here in Berlin. When they gave the team and I saw that Rafa was coming, I was really excited to share the locker room with him once again.

“Here at the Laver Cup we are all much closer together and it would have been a unique experience. I am going to miss him and I hope he returns to the courts soon when he feels well. I hope we meet at some tournament soon.”

Despite Nadal not being present in Berlin this week, Spanish Davis Cup captain David Ferrer has revealed that there is a ‘possibility’ that the 22-time Grand Slam champion could return for the Finals in Malaga in November.

This is something that Alcaraz was subsequently asked about, as he heaped praise on his compatriot, “I heard David say that if Rafa was there, he would go all out with him. I hope I’m also physically fit to be able to go to Malaga. It’s something that I’m particularly excited about and I hope Rafa is there too.”

Alcaraz continued, “Rafa is one of the greatest in the history of our sport. For me, he is my idol, he is the one I watched the matches with when I was a child. I have tried to learn from him as much as I could during the time we were together.

“I will miss him in Berlin because it was a unique opportunity to continue learning from him. He has been a unique tennis player.”

Alcaraz will make his Laver Cup matchcourt debut tomorrow in doubles, playing alongside Zverev against the American pairing of Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.

Inside the baseline…

It is a shame that Rafael Nadal is not at the Laver Cup this week, but you can view it in two ways. In one way you could see it as Nadal being content with his career coming to an end, or on the other hand you could argue that he does not want the Laver Cup to be his retirement farewell and still has more to give. Hopefully Nadal will return for the Davis Cup Finals in November, with the potential of another doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz very exciting.