Next milestone in the young career of Carlos Alcaraz (ATP 9). One day after his 19th birthday, the Spaniard wins for the first time against compatriot Rafael Nadal (ATP 4) in the third attempt. In the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid he prevailed 6:2, 1:6, 6:3.
In doing so, Alcaraz defeats the man in whose footsteps he is walking for the first time. Because the careers of the two Spaniards have incredible parallels. Alcaraz broke the top 10 on the same date (April 25), after the same tournament (Barcelona) and at the same age (18) as the 21-time Grand Slam champion. And that 17 years after Nadal, who succeeded in 2005.
Moment of shock in the 2nd movement
Alcaraz starts the game strong. In the first set he can take the service from Nadal three times. Only once did he receive the rebreak immediately. Appropriate for this strong performance: he closes the sack with the first set ball.
The youngster experiences a moment of shock at the beginning of the second round. When the game ball was Nadal to make it 2-1, he gave everything to reach the ball. And twists his right foot badly. The consequence? He has to take a medical time-out and his foot is heavily bandaged. Nevertheless, he can continue playing. But he no longer finds any means against Nadal, does not have a single break chance and has to leave the sentence to the opponent.
But Alcaraz doesn’t give up and instead can improve again. And wins because he can use the only breakball of the entire 3rd set.
Now Djokovic is waiting
With his semi-final advance he writes history. Not only is he the first teenager to beat Nadal on clay, he is also the youngest player to reach the semi-finals in Madrid at 19.
The next chunk is now waiting for the youngster there. He meets world number 1 Novak Djokovic for the first time. The Serb has no problems in the 6: 3, 6: 4 against the Pole Hubert Hurkacz. He needs just 82 minutes to win. (bir)