* The best plays of Alcaraz’s triumph once morest Nadal
Despite the fact that the pressure on his back is greater each time, Carlos Alcaraz begins to show the 19 years who has the necessary talent to carry the backpack of the successor of the historic generation made up of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal y Novak Djokovicprofiling himself mainly as heir to his compatriot, whom he defeated in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters 1000: alcaraz eliminated Nadal by beating him for 6-2, 1-6 y 6-3 and now he will face Djokovic in semifinals.
The young man from El Palmar (Murcia)who is currently in the 9th place of the ATP ranking following winning his first four professional titles between 2021 and 2022, he defeated the legendary Rafa Nadal in a game that lasted more than two hours of action.
is the Alcaraz’s first victory in the history between the twoas Rafa had surpassed him in last year’s edition of this tournament (6-1 and 6-2) and then also defeated him in the semifinals of the Masters 1000 de Indian Wells this year (6-4, 4-6 and 6-3). That is to say, he had to wait for the third confrontation to prevail over his idol, who was already a five-time champion in Madrid and is currently the player with the most Grand Slam titles of all time.
alcaraz had to overcome a sprained right foot in the second set in a match in which Nadal He was not physically at his best either, he seemed to feel the consequences of his demanding match once morest David Goffin. The Murcian was lethal with his climbs to the net and some cut drops that complicated the Mallorcan.
“I congratulate Alcaraz. Obviously it is a relief, one is 19 and the other is almost 36 years old, he is a relief. If it is from today or not, we will see it over the months. I am happy for him, he has been better than me in various facets of the game. I need to improve as I have been speaking these days. It is nothing that did not enter into logic and is accepted“, said Rafael Nadal in the press conference following his defeat.
Now alcaraz will have to fight for the dream of playing his second final in a tournament of this caliber once morest the Serbian Novak Djokovicwho beat the Pole 6-3, 6-4 Hubert Hurkacz (14º) in their quarterfinal match.
The winner of a crown in 2021 (Umag ATP) and another three in 2022 (Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro and Miami Masters 1000) began his course in the second phase with victory once morest the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (6-3 and 7-5) and then stepped firmly once morest the British Cameron Norrie (6-4, 6-7 and 6-3). A not minor detail, which marks the hierarchy of this young promise, is that Alcaraz played four ATP finals in his professional career and won all of them.
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