Carlos Alcaraz must be in seventh heaven right now. After an unbelievable run so far in 2022, he has managed to defeat the ultimate King of Clay Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Carlos Alcaraz played some unbelievable tennis to stun Rafael Nadal
There are only a handful of players in Rafael Nadal’s 20-years long career that had defeated the Spaniard on the red dirt. Alcaraz, who experts are calling his protégé has done just that much to the disappointment of Nadal’s fans and to the excitement of tennis fans across the globe.
In an epic three-set battle, Alcaraz emerged on top and displayed that he truly is here to stay and make his mark. The first set saw some of the best tennis from the 18-year-old. However, his second set turned out to be one with a lot of hiccups.
"What just happened?", wrote Alcaraz on the camera following his win over Nadal. Crazy last point!
— Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) May 6, 2022
Not only did he have a terrible fall at the beginning of the set, there was also a medical emergency as a fan fainted in the crowd. This disrupted the players’ momentums. But in true champion spirit, the youngster managed to recover both physically and mentally in the third set to win the match, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.
Alcaraz stuns himself with the win
Given the circumstances under which the match was played, Carlos Alcaraz himself could not believe the outcome of the match. He seemed surprised at the fact that he had actually managed to score a win over the 21-time Grand Slam champion. “What just happened?”, he wrote on the camera post victory.
This battle of the generations has happened thrice till date. It has ended with Nadal winning two of the encounters and the 18-year-old winning their most recent one. “Without a doubt, the toughest match of my career emotionally,” he said about the intensity of the match.
Alcaraz. “Without a doubt, the toughest match of my career emotionally”.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 6, 2022
Not only was Alcaraz’s game aggressive and his serve on point but his volleys and his net game seemed to be unbelievable too. He did not seem to falter against the magnanimous presence of Nadal on clay and kept his calm.
