Alcaraz Levels Blockbuster Indian Wells SF Against Nadal In High Winds

Carlos Alcaraz has levelled his highly anticipated BNP Paribas Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal at 4-6, 6-4 after two hours and 22 minutes, with the winner to face Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s Indian Wells final.

It was a notable scene as cameras followed Nadal and Alcaraz on their golf-cart ride to the court in the California desert. Nadal, a legendary figure throughout the sports world, was on the back of the cart, intense as ever. Alcaraz, who was in the middle row, is touted as the future of Spanish tennis and, perhaps, the ATP Tour.

Little did they know that not only would they have to deal with each other’s skills, but an extended period of massive wind gusts. Following a gruelling, high-quality first set, the wind picked up to such an extent that towels and garbage from the stands flew across the court, the singles sticks became displaced, and the match became a battle of footwork adjustments more than bludgeoned winners.

“This is not tennis. This is survival,” former World No. 1 Jim Courier said on Tennis Channel during the second set.

“The net looks like a sail,” longtime coach and courtside analyst Paul Annacone added.

Eighteen-year-old Alcaraz, who has saved 15 of the 20 break points he has faced through two sets, is the second-youngest semi-finalist in Indian Wells tournament history behind 17-year-old Andre Agassi in 1988. He is trying to halt Nadal’s personal-best 19-0 start to the season. The lefty has captured titles at a Melbourne ATP 250, the Australian Open and Acapulco.

The pair clashed for the first time last year on clay in Madrid, where Nadal triumphed 6-1, 6-2 in just 78 minutes behind five service breaks. But it was clear from the first game that today’s Alcaraz has made big strides in the 10 months since that meeting, when the teen had still not cracked the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings.

Now World No. 19 and climbing higher by the week, Alcaraz came out firing. He launched groundstrokes without fear, overwhelming Nadal, who so often imposes his will physically on opponents. That helped the 18-year-old to an early break after he crushed a laser-like crosscourt backhand winner. He then saved five break points in the next game to consolidate it.

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But nobody bullies Nadal, which the 35-year-old proved throughout the rest of the set. As aggressive as Alcaraz was, he also made some untimely errors that put him under pressure. And once fourth-seeded Nadal worked his way into the match, he showed no intention of letting go.

The legendary lefty earned a jaw-dropping 17 break points in the opener, claiming three of them. Although Alcaraz showed his own grit and determination by saving most of those chances and getting back on serve after losing four consecutive games, he found himself on the back foot in games far too often. 

With Nadal’s high level and the disappointment for Alcaraz after losing the first set, it seemed the momentum was fully on the veteran’s side of the net. But the 18-year-old did well to stay in contact early in the set, and then the wind began to pick up.

If the first set was a heavyweight boxing match, the second set was fought on stilts. Through no fault of the players, they had to battle the wind as much they did each other. There were fewer jaw-dropping rallies in which the pair fired ball after ball from corner to corner. Now, they had to position themselves to avoid making too many mistakes and giving each other free points because of the gusts.

The critical game was at 4-4, which lasted just about 20 minutes. On his seventh break point of the game, Alcaraz hit an incredible lob that left Nadal helpless. He then served out the set to force a decider on Stadium 1.

Home favourite Fritz, who will play the winner, eliminated seventh seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets earlier in the day.