MADRID—Rafael Nadal one day. Novak Djokovic the other.
The list of victims of Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz keeps growing.
And so does the hype over tennis’ newest sensation.
After defeating his idol Nadal in the quarterfinals on Friday, the 19-year-old Alcaraz rallied to beat top-ranked Djokovic 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) after more than 3 1/2 hours on Saturday to reach the Madrid Open final.
Novak Djokovic (L) shakes hands with Carlos Alcaraz at the end of a men’s semifinal at the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, May 7, 2022. (Manu Fernandez/AP Photo)
“It was one of those matches to enjoy,” Alcaraz said. “Despite the tension, despite being the semifinals of a Masters 1000, being 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker … I’ve enjoyed it. Until the last point I was being able to smile.”
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