ATP Masters Madrid: Carlos Alcaraz makes history on "one of the best days of life".
Carlos Alcaraz will not stop writing tennis history in 2022. With his semi-final win over Novak Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid, the 19-year-old once again achieved something historic.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
May 08, 2022, 07:51 am
Let's look back: By twelve months, a little less than 365 days. To be more precise, May 3rd, 2021. Actually not a special day in tennis, the ATP world rankings are confidently led by Novak Djokovic. Far, far behind is a gentleman who is predicted to have a great future in tennis: Carlos Alcaraz. The then 17-year-old Spaniard was ranked 120th in the ATP charts.
Today, 361 days later, Carlitos, as the Spaniard is called in his home country, is not only one ATP Masters 1000 title richer, the 19-year-old is also among the top ten in the world rankings (!) for the first time and is sending himself in Madrid ready to triumph again at Masters level. On the way there, how could it be otherwise, Carlos Alcaraz did not shy away from setting new records.
Alcaraz celebrates triumphs
The 19-year-old is not only the first teenager to succeed in defeating the great clay court king Rafael Nadal on his "home surface", Alcaraz was also the first tennis player ever to defeat Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in a clay court tournament. An announcement. Like the youngster's entire year so far, who is also one of the favorites in view of the French Open.
"Today is undoubtedly one of the best days of my life, but I'm sure I can beat this day in a while or even tomorrow," said Alcaraz after his marathon win over Novak Djokovic in the Madrid semifinals. He is very happy with these two matches and has done a lot, if not everything right, in the past 24 hours, both playfully and tactically, as Alcaraz explained.
Alcaraz is aiming for the French Open
With this experience, the Spaniard now sees himself ready to cause a sensation at Grand Slam level. "I feel ready to compete against the best on all surfaces in this type of tournament, although it's very different in a Grand Slam because I play best-of-five and the games are longer than in other tournaments" , explained the 19-year-old.
At the same time, the Spaniard also knows that the top dogs, above all Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, are particularly difficult to beat at the major events. "I see myself well prepared, the best have won these tournaments for a long time and reached the final rounds because they are made of different stuff, especially mentally," says Alcaraz. Who is already coming very close to Nadal, Djokovic & Co in this regard. And can defeat them in big matches, as Madrid has shown.
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