And since Blanch is half-Spanish through her father and also trains in Spain, she was able to get the opportunity in Madrid as well. The fact that Nadal, who is twenty-one years older than him, became his opponent is just a whim of the draw, to which Blanch responded in a timely manner on social media.
Nadal’s youngest opponent so far was Carlos Alcaraz, born in 2003, who played against Nadal for the first time three years ago, on his eighteenth birthday, also in Madrid. Nadal won easily then (6:1, 6:2), but in 2022, Alcaraz fought back in the Spanish capital (6:2, 1:6, 6:3).
Alcaraz knows Nadal’s young opponent well
Nadal’s career will hardly last long, Blanch couldn’t even dream of ever playing against the Spanish legend. Alcaraz, on the other hand, is well known to the young American, as Blanch trains at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy, who is Alcaraz’s coach, ranked 3rd in the world.
Blanch took part in Alcaraz’s training sessions several times as a hitting partner, even then the American was on the court opposite him when Alcaraz was injured before last year’s Australian Open, and because of this he had to miss the Grand Slam tournament.
“He plays very well for his age,” says the twenty-year-old Alcaraz about Blanch. – This match can mean a lot in terms of his career, just as it was very important for me when I played against Nadal for the first time in 2021. The important thing is to enjoy the match.
