Carlos Alcaraz survived an injury scare on his route to a historic triumph against Rafael Nadal on Friday, setting up a showdown with Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals in Madrid. Despite having a 0-2 record against Nadal, Alcaraz thought he had a chance given his opponent’s lack of match experience. Nadal had been absent for six weeks due to a rib ailment and came to Madrid with little to no clay experience.
The 19-year-old Alcaraz upset 21-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in an exciting quarter-final at the Caja Magica, giving him a tour-leading 26th victory of the season.
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“It means a lot to me to beat Rafa, to beat the finest player in history on clay, it means a lot to me,” Alcaraz said. Alcaraz is the first teenager to beat Nadal on clay.
“The loss in the second set shook me a lot, but after I lost the second, I went to the restroom, and I thought I could come back, that I could do my best, do everything on the court, battle until the last ball, and I think that was the key.”
The first three games were all against the serve and lasted over 20 minutes until Alcaraz won 3-1. Nadal could only manage one more game in the set as Alcaraz took a dominating lead.
Alcaraz had a crash attempting to collect a ball in the third game of the second set, resulting in a long medical stoppage at 1-2 to have his ankle wrapped. Alcaraz had rolled his ankle hard, according to replays.
When play resumed, the seventh seed was broken as Nadal moved up 3-1, but there was another delay due to a spectator.
Nadal held and surged away with the set after a lengthy delay, as Alcaraz hindered his mobility.
Alcaraz took a bathroom break and began the deciding in a better mood, jumping out to a 3-1 lead. It was all he needed to win in two hours and 28 minutes, setting up a thrilling showdown with Djokovic.
– ‘Excellent for our sport’ –
“Naturally, I’m thinking about tomorrow. I’ll send an SMS to (David) Nalbandian to discover how he achieved it. I’ll fight, and we’ll see what happens the next day. “Alcaraz made a joke about Miomir Kecmanovic’s coach, David Nalbandian, who beat Nadal and Djokovic on his route to the Madrid triumph in 2007.
Djokovic advanced to his sixth Madrid semi-final, defeating Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-3, 6-4 to win his 30th match in the Spanish city.
After spending some time working with Alcaraz earlier this week, the world number one expressed his admiration for the young Spaniard.
“Like many other players on tour, I like watching him play. Without a doubt, he’s excellent for our sport. I believe it’s fantastic that we have a young guy performing so well and giving the tennis world a new lease of life, “Djokovic said.
“Seeing it plus knowing he’s a very lovely man with solid morals is the ideal mix.”
Djokovic broke to start his quarter-final, and that was all he needed to take the first set in 33 minutes.
Djokovic regained control of the match when Hurkacz lost service in game five of the second set.
At 5-3, the Pole saved two match chances on his serve, forcing Djokovic to serve out the victory. And the 34-year-old Serb had no problem reducing the gap, winning in 81 minutes to go to the last four.
Due to his vaccination status, which has prohibited him from playing in Australia or entering the United States, Djokovic has not participated much in 2022.
His victory on Friday was just his eighth season, and he’ll be attempting to reach his second final of the year after finishing second in Belgrade last month.
Andy Murray withdrew from the tournament due to a stomach ailment, giving Djokovic a walkover into the final 16.
