After beating Nadal on Friday, Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz upset the world's top ranked player on Saturday at the Madrid Open tennis tournament.
In the Madrid Open semifinals, the 19-year-old overcame a set and a break down to beat the top-seeded Serb in a match that took more than 3 1/2 hours to complete.
It was one of those matches that were enjoyable. I have enjoyed it. I was able to smile until the last moment.
On the Caja Magica center court, Alcaraz converted on his third match point to seal the victory. He was the first player to defeat both Nadal and Djokovic at the same event.
He said it was incredible to play in front of this crowd in Madrid.
A win Sunday will give Alcaraz his fourth title of the season.
| Player | Year | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | 2022 | Madrid |
| Roger Federer | 2010 | ATP Finals |
| Nikolay Davydenko | 2009 | Shanghai |
| Andy Roddick | 2008 | Dubai |
| David Nalbandian | 2007 | Madrid |
| -- ESPN Stats & Information |
He will face either Alexander Zverev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
The youngest player in the top 10 since Nadal in 2005 has won three times this year.
He beat Nadal for the first time on Friday, and then defeated Novak Djokovic in their first match, becoming just the fifth player to defeat the two superstars on back-to-back days.
The youngest player to defeat a world No. 1 was Alcaraz, who was just 19 years old.
The defending French Open champion is trying to regain his best form as he attempts to win his first title of the season.
The youngest ever to reach the Madrid semifinals, Alcaraz, took an early lead in the first set.
The Spaniard took the second set after the Serb wasted three break opportunities to serve for the match, and kept the pressure on during the third until he finally capitalized on one of his many chances in the tiebreaker.
The match winner was one of Alcaraz's more than 30 forehand winners. Alcaraz had 51 winners to 24 for the other.
Alcaraz said that it was so close that he had the chance to break his serve at the end of the second set. It was very close in the first set. I don't know what made the difference.
After arriving in Madrid this week, Djokovic praised Alcaraz and said his son had replaced Nadal as his favorite player.
The report was contributed to by the Associated Press.
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