Rafael Nadal Loses To Carlos Alcaraz In Madrid Open Quarter Finals

Rafael Nadal Loses To Carlos Alcaraz In Madrid Open Quarter Finals. 

Carlos Alcaraz, a teenager, beat Rafa Nadal 6-2 1-6 6-3 in a Spanish generational fight at the Madrid Open on Friday. 

He scores his first win against his idol and sets up a semi-final match with world number one Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz overcame an ankle injury to create a spectacular performance at the Manolo Santana Stadium, becoming the first Spaniard to defeat Nadal since Fernando Verdasco at the 2016 Australian Open.

“It means a great deal to me.” All of my daily efforts have been rewarded. It means a lot to beat Rafa, the best clay player in history,” Alcaraz remarked.

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As a 120th-ranked wildcard, Alcaraz lost in straight sets to Nadal in Madrid a year ago on his 18th birthday, winning only three games.

The older Spaniard prevailed in three sets in March’s semi-finals of the Indian Wells tournament. 

But not before Alcaraz demonstrated his enormous potential. 

He eventually got his revenge on his 35-year-old buddy a day after turning 19.

In the first set, Alcaraz controlled and dictated the games, but in the second, he hurt his ankle trying to reach for a game-winning forehand.

After the play was briefly halted due to a fan becoming ill, Nadal took advantage of the misstep to stroll past the younger Spaniard.

Nadal appeared to have the upper hand heading into the decider. 

Still, Alcaraz recovered his form and held his composure to defeat the 21-time Grand Slam champion.

“The fall in the second set had a big impact on me,” Alcaraz said. “When I lost the second (set), I went to the bathroom, thinking I’d be able to come back and give it my all.

“The key was that I wanted to fight till the last ball.”

For a spot in the final, Alcaraz will face Djokovic, who defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-3 6-4 earlier in the day and quipped that he would seek guidance from Argentine David Nalbandian.

In the 2007 competition, an unseeded Nalbandian overcame overwhelming odds to defeat the Big Three of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals, respectively.

Alcaraz said, “I’ll text Nalbandian how he did it.” “I’m only thinking about tomorrow… Let’s see what happens if I fight.”

After his fourth victory in Madrid, Djokovic looked much more like himself against Hurkacz. 

He worked his way back to top form ahead of the French Open, which starts later this month.

When Andy Murray withdrew from their highly anticipated match due to sickness, the 34-year-old was handed a walkover into the quarter-finals. Instead, the top-seeded Serb got right to work against Hurkacz.

After an hour and 20 minutes of play, Djokovic won with 16 winners and did not face a breakpoint from Hurkacz, extending his perfect record against the Pole to 4-0.

The fourth seed in Greece, Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Andrey Rublev, the sixth seed, 6-3 2-6 6-4, to advance to the semi-finals. 

He will face defending champion Alexander Zverev or Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“Playing him wasn’t simple; it was difficult to predict what he’d do next,” Tsitsipas, who won the Monte Carlo Masters last month, said.