"He doesn't have to look at me anymore, he's a star already" - Rafael Nadal on Carlos Alcaraz

Rafael Nadal described young Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz as a "star" as he looked back on their first meeting at the Madrid Open last year.

In a video interview posted on the ATP tour website, Nadal reminisced about some of his matches in the Masters 1000 event, including his 6-1, 6-2 demolition of then World No. 120 Alcaraz on the latter's 18th birthday (May 5, 2021).

Alcaraz has since won four titles, the biggest of which was his first Masters 1000 crown in Miami last month, and has risen to No. 9 in the world.

Asked what he thought would be the takeaways of young players like Alcaraz when they faced him, Nadal said that the teenager "doesn't have to look at me anymore" as he is "a star already."

"He doesn't have to look at me anymore. He's a star already. He's doing amazing things. Happy [for] a Spanish colleague, happy about being a fan of the sport that we're going to have an amazing player for such a long time," said Nadal.

Pressed to compare Alcaraz's attitude then and now, Nadal likened the young Spaniard's progress to that of the Big 3 – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and himself.

He said players like these were "not normal" and had the ability to make a quick transition on the tour. He also noted how Alcaraz is already one of the favorites heading into upcoming tournaments.

"When you're young, when you are very good, the process is faster than the normal people. So he (Carlos Alcaraz) is not a normal guy, like Novak was not a normal guy, like Roger was not a normal guy, probably me was not a normal guy or Sascha (Zverev) or these kinds of guys that have the level at a very young age so they make the transition to the very highest level very quick. That's what he did and he's already there, like one of the big favorites to achieve every single tournament that he's playing," said Rafael Nadal.

"It happened too many times in my life, no time to complain much, just time to keep going" - Rafael Nadal on coming back from injury

Rafael Nadal strikes a forehand during practice in Madrid.

Five-time Madrid champion Rafael Nadal is back in action after a six-week break due to a rib stress fracture he sustained in Indian Wells in March.

Nadal has had to battle back from a spate of injuries in his career. Just last year, he was out for five months due to a chronic foot injury. And while he returned with a bang, winning the Australian Open and logging his best-ever start to the season, the Spaniard found himself on the sidelines again after hurting his rib.

Nadal acknowledged that having to go through so many injuries was tiring. And while it was not easy to accept, the Spaniard said he could bank on his previous experiences as he tries to stay positive and improve every day.

"It's tiring. It happened too many times in my life. Of course, it's not easy to accept every single time the challenge but, in that case, I have experience on that. So just no time to complain much; just time to keep going, to stay positive and to try to find positive things to be better and better every day," said Rafael Nadal.