One day Rafael Nadal. Novak Djokovic next.
The list of victims of Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz continues to grow.
Key points:
- Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 19, has become the youngest player to make a final at the Madrid Open, beating world number one Novak Djokovic to get there.
- Victory follows Alcaraz’s victory over Spanish clay-court master Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals
- Alcaraz has already won in Rio De Janeiro, Miami and Barcelona this year
And so is the hype surrounding the new tennis sensation.
After beating his idol Nadal in the quarterfinals on Friday (local time), 19-year-old Alcaraz rallied to beat top-ranked Djokovic 6-7 (7/5), 7-5, 7-6 ( 7/5) after more than three and a half hours on Saturday to reach the Madrid Open final.
“It was one of those matches to enjoy,” Alcaraz said.
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Alcaraz converted their third match point to claim victory – their 27th of the year – in front of a raucous crowd on center court at Caja Mágica.
“To play against the world number one, in front of this audience here in Madrid, is incredible,” he said.
A victory on Sunday will give Alcaraz their fourth title this season, the best of any player. He has already recorded tournament victories in Rio De Janeiro, Miami and Barcelona.
He will face defending champion Alexander Zverev or Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz, the youngest player in the top 10 since Nadal in 2005, has won this year in Miami, Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.
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He beat Nadal for the first time on Friday and triumphed over Djokovic in their opener.
Djokovic remains without a title this season as he continues to try to regain his best form ahead of defending his title at Roland Garros this month.
Alcaraz, Madrid’s youngest to reach the semi-finals, took an early lead in the first set but Djokovic rallied.
The Spaniard took the second set after Djokovic wasted three break opportunities to serve for the game, and kept the pressure on through the third until finally capitalizing on one of his many chances in the tiebreaker .
The match winner was one of more than 30 Alcaraz forehand winners who kept Djokovic on the defensive throughout. Alcaraz had 51 winners against 24 for Djokovic.
“It was so close,” Alcaraz said. “He had the opportunity to break my serve at the end of the second set. In the first set as well, it was so tight in the tie-break. Honestly, I don’t know what made the difference.”
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Djokovic praised Alcaraz after joining Madrid this week and said his son had already replaced Nadal with the young Spaniard as his favorite player.
PA/ABC