Before last year’s Madrid Masters, Stefanos Tsitsipas was the youngest player to beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Stefanos knocked out Novak in Toronto in 2018 and toppled Rafa a year later in Madrid to complete a daunting task at the age of 20.
Carlos Alcaraz took Tsitsipas’ record in style at Caja Mágica last year, beating two legends on consecutive days at 19 years and two days! Alcaraz became the fifth player to defeat Nadal and Djokovic on consecutive days and the first to defeat them on clay.
The young Spaniard picked up his first victory over Nadal in the quarter-finals, beating his idol 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes. Carlos took advantage of the fact that Rafa hadn’t played for six weeks, dominating the first and third set to set up the clash against Novak Djokovic.
The teenager defended six of nine break points and earned four breaks that took him to the final. Alcaraz hit 37 winners and started again from the third set to topple the king of clay and stay in contention for the title. A day later, Carlos beat world number 1 Novak Djokovic 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 in three hours and 35 minutes of an epic battle.
The game only recorded three service interruptions. The young tennis player kept his composure in the closing stages of the second and third set to clinch victory and qualify for the title clash in front of his fans. Djokovic came from 4-2 up in the first set and took command after the opening shot to keep the pressure on the other side.
The Serb won in the tie-break at 7-5 which gave him a good boost going into the second set. While sharing his thoughts on the Monday Match Analysis show, Flink felt that Carlos Alcaraz will have a lot of pressure on him.
Alcaraz closed out a successful 2022 season
Since starting 2022 outside the top 30, Carlos Alcaraz has scripted the biggest jump to ATP World No.
1. “I don’t want to move from home. I take fame as something natural. I lead a normal life although it is true that I am a little more recognized than before. I am very close to people and I like it because I see how they encourage me and what is behind from me,” The Spaniard said.
“Albert Molina, who is my agent, Juanjo, my physio, and Toni (Cascales) are also part of my family, and I have a great time with them. You spend two or three hours on the track and the rest of the time you have to do things that make you feel good,” he added.
