Nadal

Carlos Alcaraz toppled his idol Rafael Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in the Madrid Open quarterfinals on Friday.

"It means a lot to me," said the 19-year-old Alcaraz. "All the hard work that I put in every day pays off today. Nadal a five-time winner in Madrid, dropped serve three times in the first set, winning in an eventful match that had to be stopped to assist a spectator in the stands. To beat Rafa, to beat the best player in history on clay, it means a lot to me."

Alcaraz defeats Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to post a tour-leading 26th victory of the season. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

I think it's great that we have a young player who is doing so well and giving a new fresh breath to the tennis world," said Djokovic. "I love to watch him play, as a lot of other players on the tour. And the 34-year-old Serb had no trouble closing, moving into the final four with an 81-minute success. It was all he needed to complete the win in two hours and 28 minutes and set up an exciting clash with Djokovic. I will text (David) Nalbandian to see how he did it. Replays showed Alcaraz had badly rolled his ankle.

Last week, the 19-year-old became the youngest top-10 male player since Nadal himself achieved the feat almost exactly 17 years ago.

- 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz beat his countryman and hero Rafael Nadal for the first time at the quarter-final stage of the Madrid Open In a clash of generations, Spanish teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz has overcome injury to defeat his idol Rafael Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in what felt like a changing-of-the-guard moment at the Madrid Open. Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz defeats hero Rafael Nadal for the first time at Madrid Open

The 2022 ATP Rome Masters is set to run from May 8th till May 15th with all the big names attending including Djokovic and Nadal as they look to replay the ...

Last year's Rome Masters saw Rafael Nadal edge out Novak Djokovic in the final as the Serbian was forced to play two matches in a day due to rain. For Djokovic, it's Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinal as the American enjoyed a deep run last year. Down the line for Nadal is Denis Shapovalov who nearly defeated him in Rome last year so that should be an interesting affair as well.

Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal met for the third time on Friday in Madrid, with the 19-year-old coming out on top. © Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.

“You just recover that with days and with matches, like yesterday, like the first day, like today. “I just accept it naturally with calm and with security that there is a path to continue." When it comes to returning to Tour in style, Nadal is an expert, with his recent Australian Open triumph an example after he missed the second half of the 2021 season with a foot injury. “I said that before coming here it was going to be a tough week, even though I have lost to one of the fittest players of the world with no doubts, I even had my opportunities. “It's an easy loss to digest in that regard, because we knew what we could expect here, and now because of that, I don't take away any merit from Carlos. Congratulations to him. “The reading of the tournament is I have played three matches and that I came here with hardly any preparation, with no preparation.

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That time out meant he was unable to compete at Wimbledon and the Olympics. "In the short therm, as I said, it's fine, but I'm also conscious for tomorrow. That's part of my life, and that's the downside of not being able to finish the match earlier.

Teen sensation sprains ankle then stuns idol Nadal in epic boilover.

In the second set, Alcaraz saved three break points but suffered a fall. He struggled with his right ankle as Nadal won five straight games to take the set. “All the hard work that I put in every day pays off today.