Passing Of The Torch? Carlos Alcaraz, 19, Ends Rafael Nadal’s 25-Match Winning Streak Against Spanish Opponents

Some matches end up being turning points in the history of tennis.

When Roger Federer beat Pete Sampras in five sets in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001, it was eventually seen as the passing of the torch from one legend to another.

Whether Friday’s match in Madrid between fellow Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz also becomes a passing of the torch moment remains to be seen, but for now it is a historic victory for the 19-year-old as he became the first teenager ever to beat Nadal on clay.

With the King of Spain sitting courtside, Alcaraz overcome an ankle injury in the second set to end Nadal’s 25-match, six-year winning streak against fellow Spaniards, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, to advance to a semifinal showdown with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Saturday. Alcaraz extended his winning streak against Top 10 opponents to five.

“I don’t know what to say, it’s unbelievable to play in this stadium against the best athlete in history in Spain, the best player in history on clay,” Alcaraz told Prakash Amritraj on Tennis Channel. “It has been an unbelievable match. The King of Spain watching was amazing for me, I never played in front of such a great person. For me, it’s a dream come true.”

Alcaraz entered the match with an 0-2 record against Nadal, having won only three games in their match in Madrid a year ago. But he knew he had a golden opportunity given Nadal’s lack of match play. The Spanish legend was out of action for six weeks nursing a rib injury, and arrived in Madrid with little to no preparation on clay.

Alcaraz, ranked No. 9 in the world, improved to 26-3 in 2022. He has won three titles, including the Miami Open, the first Masters 1000 title of his career.

Nadal, the 21-time Grand Slam champion who was coming off a 3-hour, 9-minute match against David Goffin on Thursday, is now 22-2 in 2022 with three titles, including the Australian Open.

After that match, Nadal had said he was dealing with a “chronic foot injury” that makes him limp “many days of my life.”

On the final point of the third game of the second set, Alcaraz took a tumble while running to his right and ended up turning his right ankle and landing awkwardly on his right hand. He took a medical timeout and got the ankle taped up.

Nadal pounced on his opponent’s weakness and dominated the second set.

“It affected me a lot,” Alcaraz said “When I lost the second set, I [just] thought that I was able to come back, to do my best, try everything on court, fight until the last ball. It was the key.”

Alcaraz did not go way in the third set despite the injury. He broke at love for a 3-1 lead and then held serve to close out the match, winning it after making a tremendous defensive save with a backhand and then smacking a forehand passing shot past Nadal at the net.

“I think I have to go for it,” he said on Tennis Channel of his thought process after the injury. “If I miss, if I lose, well I feel that I’m doing the right things. I’m happy with that if I miss it, but today I did it and it was unbelievable.”

Alcaraz will now face Djokovic for the first time after the world No. 1 beat No. 14 Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-4 to reach his seventh Madrid semifinal. Had Nadal won, it would have meant a 59th meeting between him and Djokovic.

World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas will No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal at 3 p.m.ET.

The Serb struck the ball with relentless depth, accuracy and power as he controlled points with his groundstrokes to advance after 78 minutes and improve his perfect record against Hurkacz to 4-0.

“I was serving really well in the second set, I think that kept me alive,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I was pleased with the way I was constructing points. I tried to make him run and miss and overall It was a solid performance.

Alcaraz may be the next big thing in men’s tennis and he will now have a golden opportunity against Djokovic, assuming his ankle is healthy enough to play at his top level.

Djokovic turned pro in 2003, while Alcaraz was born in 2003. Djokovic has 84 career titles, Alcaraz four.

“Yeah, I’m excited to play against the best player in the world, he’s No. 1 right now,” Alcaraz said on Tennis Channel. “I want to do the same that Nalbandian did a few years ago.”

The Argentine is the only player to have beaten the Big 3 of Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in the same tournament. He achieved the feat in Madrid in 2007 when the event was played on hardcourt.

“I will text Nalbandian how he did it,” he said in his on-court interview.

As for facing Djokovic, he said on Tennis Channel: “I can just say I will fight until the last ball, I will do my game. I will enjoy the match and let’s see what’s gonna happen.’