‘He was better than me,’ says Nadal about Alcaraz. Djokovic next…

Rafael Nadal explained why Alcaraz defeated him in Madrid.

Nadal And Alcaraz

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

Rafael Nadal

12 - 8win/loss

Hard
2-1
I Hard
0-1
Clay
10-6
38 year old
LLWLWWWWLL
2024 Highlights

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.

Nadal
Madrid
Nadal's Record

Alcaraz in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2022

Carlos Alcaraz

54 - 13win/loss

Hard
22-5
I Hard
7-3
Clay
17-4
Grass
8-1
21 year old
WLWLLWLWWW
2024 Highlights

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)

Alcaraz
Madrid
Alcaraz's Record
Alcaraz
Projected
Draw
 

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

Novak Djokovic

37 - 9win/loss

Hard
15-5
I Hard
1-0
Clay
16-3
Grass
5-1
37 year old
LWWWWWWLWW
2024 Highlights

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)

Djokovic
Madrid
Djokovic's Record
Djokovic
Projected
Draw

Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic

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