Carlos Alcaraz became the first men’s player to successfully defend his title in the Manolo Santana Stadium at the Mutua Madrid Open last year after Rafael Nadal. This time, he’ll be attempting an extraordinary feat: winning three titles in a row. However, Alcaraz spoke with the reporter about his tournament experiences just before taking the field.
Alcaraz expressed his thoughts about playing in Madrid and said: “Playing in Madrid is playing at home. It’s a very special and amazing fortnight. I’m lucky because I have a lot of support when I play overseas, anywhere in the world, but the support I get here is incomparable. I’d say because of my style of play the altitude in Madrid benefits me. I like playing here. Apart from being a court that bears the name of a legend of our sport, the pioneer, I would say it has to be the people. As I said before, the fans in Madrid are amazing, I feel like they carry me through the matches.”
He further talked about his special memories of playing in Madrid and said: “It’s difficult to choose one. In 2022, when I won the title for the first time, I played Nadal, Djokovic and Zverev consecutively. That wasn’t bad. Last year I struggled in my opener against Ruusuvuori and the final against Struff was also tough.”
Alcaraz concluded his discussion by talking about successfully defending the Madrid Open title last year and said: “Because of everything it means, playing against Rafa in Madrid is a huge challenge. It means a lot. Any stat that puts me on a par with Rafa is a good sign because he’s achieved everything you can in the world of tennis. Defending the title in Madrid is a very difficult task.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
WLWLLWLWWW At the moment ranked no.3, Carlos played his last match on the 28th of March when he was defeated by world no.10 Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-4 in the quarter in Miami (draw).
Currently, during this year Carlos achieved a compiled 15-4 record. This year, the Spaniard conquered 1 title in Indian Wells.
Alcaraz will compete next in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 22nd of April.
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Ranked no.644, Nadal played his last match on the 17th of April when he lost to world no.11 Alex De Minaur 7-5 6-1 in the 2nd round in Barcelona (draw).
This year the Spaniard has achieved a composed 3-2 record.
He is also scheduled to play in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) on the 8th of May and French Open (French Open) on the 26th of May.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal squared off 3 times. Their actual record is 2-1 for Nadal. Previously, the last time they fought against each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in May 2022.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |
