Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz played a fascinating match on Friday in Madrid when the Spanish teenager won in 3 sets. Carlito again demonstrated his incredible mental strength when he regrouped winning the match at the decider after playing a horrible 2nd set. The final score was 6-2 1-6 6-3. Alcaraz will face Novak Djokovic in the semifinal.
Nadal was impressed by Carlito to comment:
“He was better than me in several aspects of the match and several aspects of the game, and I need to improve. I just accept it naturally with calm and with security that there is a path to continue.
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. He’s playing great, and I hope the best for him for the rest of the tournament.”
Rafael Nadal in 2022
Ranked no.4, Rafael played his last match on the 6th of May when he surrendered to world no.9 Carlos Alcaraz 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (draw).
Currently, during this season the Spaniard has managed to achieve a compiled 22-2 match record. Nadal conquered 3 titles in 2022 in Melbourne, at the Australian Open and in Acapulco. The Spaniard got to the final in Indian Wells.
Alcaraz in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2022
Ranked no.9 (career-high), the Spaniard has managed to achieve an overall 26-3 win-loss record in 2022. Carlos is currently playing in Madrid where he managed to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3 7-5, Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-74 6-3 and Rafael Nadal 6-2 1-6 6-3.
Carlos Alcaraz will come up against the world no.1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinal on Saturday at 4:00 pm on MANOLO SANTANA STADIUM. In the past, they have never competed against each other until now in top events.
The Spaniard conquered 3 titles in 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, in Miami and in Barcelona.
The Spaniard won 4 titles in his career: 1 on hard courts and 3 on clay courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz fought against each other 3 times. Their actual head to head record is 2-1 for Nadal. The last time they locked horns, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) on the 6th of May 2022.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Djokovic in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2022
At the moment ranked no.1, Novak has an overall 7-3 match record in 2022. Djokovic is playing in Madrid where he beat Gael Monfils 6-3 6-2, Andy Murray w/o and Hubert Hurkacz 6-3 6-4.
Novak Djokovic will fight against the world no.9 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal on Saturday at 4:00 pm on MANOLO SANTANA STADIUM. They have never played each other as of now in top competitions.
Djokovic was the finalist in Belgrade (Serbia Open).
The Serbian won 87 titles in his career: 49 on hard courts, 17 on clay courts, 14 on indoor courts and 7 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic |
Embed from Getty Images |