Tennis News

How Alcaraz ‘Grew Up As A Player’ After Unforgettable Nadal Clash

Carlos Alcaraz’s 18th birthday celebration didn’t exactly go as planned. The teenager won just three games against Rafael Nadal in their second-round clash at the Mutua Madrid Open.

But despite the one-sided scoreline, the #NextGenATP Spaniard was all smiles in his post-match press conference after receiving the ultimate present from his childhood idol.

Playing the five-time champion on Manolo Santana Stadium, wild card Alcaraz stayed toe-to-toe with Nadal for the opening exchanges but wasn’t able to keep pace as the top seed got going. An abdominal injury early on jolted Alcaraz out of his rhythm, requiring a medical timeout, and the 13-time Roland Garros champion cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory. 

“I think I could have done more in this match, but at the end of the day, it’s Rafa,” Alcaraz reflected in his post-match press conference. “Playing against Rafa for the first time is never easy. The first or the hundredth time, it’s never easy. But honestly, just to be able to play against Rafa was super special.

“I think the next time we play it will be totally different. I will know more about how to play and how to carry myself on the court. I think this time I was too anxious to finish the points quickly. At some point I even forgot that I had Rafa across the net from me, and then he returned ball after ball. I could have been more patient. But it was an unforgettable experience for me that I will always have.”

The 18-year-old’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Nadal, who was generous with his praise of the teenager in his own press conference. But the top seed did more than just compliment Alcaraz’s forehands and backhands.

When asked to quantify Alcaraz’s potential for greatness, Nadal instead pointed to the teen’s work ethic and good character as his best attributes.

“I’ve spoken a few times when I’ve seen him at tournaments… I see a lot of great qualities in him already,” Nadal said. “For example when playing a match like today, he didn’t complain a single time and had a great attitude despite losing the way he did. In Australia, he had a 15-day quarantine, and he accepted it without complaint.

“When it’s time to train, every time I’ve seen him practice he has a great attitude and good energy. This is what I see from him on a day-to-day basis and I can see how he treats the people around him. To me, this shows that he has great character.”

Alcaraz, who also received a birthday cake from Nadal and tournament director Feliciano Lopez after the match, broke into a grin after hearing Nadal’s comments.

“For me it means a lot. For one of the guys who has been at the top for so long to laud you like this and say that you’re doing things the right way means a lot,” Alcaraz said.

“I’ve always said that Rafa is my childhood idol, and I am trying to follow in his footsteps. I never see Rafa make a bad gesture on court or complain, and these are things that can affect you on the court. I try to follow his example. I’m doing things the right way, and if I continue like this I think I can go down the right path.”

Despite the bittersweet ending, Alcaraz was determined to focus on the positives from his run in Madrid. The No. 120 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings claimed his maiden ATP Masters 1000 win in the previous round to set up the meeting with his favourite player, and he is eager for more matches like these against the top players.

“This match made me learn a lot, because I have to know how to manage the tough moments and know how to play against these kinds of players,” Alcaraz said.

“[These are] tough matches, tough players, and I have to learn how to play against them. I think if I could play more matches like this, I will grow up faster as a player.”

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Tsitsipas Storms Past Paire In Madrid

Stefanos Tsitsipas has been a force on the ATP Tour this season, and the Greek showed that on Wednesday evening in a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory against Benoit Paire in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open.

The Frenchman battled hard despite an apparent abdominal injury. But anything Paire tried, Tsitsipas had an answer for, and he moved into the third round after 54 minutes. The 22-year-old is now tied with Andrey Rublev for the most tour-level wins in 2021 with 27.

Tsitsipas, who recently won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, played his typically aggressive game to storm into the early lead as his opponent struggled to consistently find the court.

After the first set, Paire received a visit from the trainer and the Frenchman removed kinesio tape he had on his abdominal region. Tsitsipas quickly broke to add to his lead, but the World No. 35 fought back. 

Paire, a three-time ATP Tour champion, showed the beautiful artistic game he is capable of with a variety of drop shots and cat-and-mouse play at the net. But too often the Frenchman was unable to harness his groundstrokes when trying to be aggressive from the baseline, and that allowed Tsitsipas to surge ahead.

The fourth seed leads the FedEx ATP Race To Turin by 350 points over second-placed Rublev. The Greek star is now 10-1 on clay this season. His only loss came after holding championship point against Rafael Nadal in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final last month.

Tsitsipas will next play Monte-Carlo semi-finalist Casper Ruud, who beat Japanese lefty Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-2 to back up his first-round victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime. It will be Ruud and Tsitsipas’ first ATP Head2Head meeting.

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Isner Gets Revenge, Saves 1 M.P. In Third Set Tie-break

John Isner lived dangerously on Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open, saving one match point in yet another third-set tie-break against Roberto Bautista Agut.

Five weeks on from the Spaniard saving one match point in a 7/6(7) third-set win over Isner at the Miami Open presented by Itau, it was the American’s turn to savour victory in spite of a partisan crowd on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.

Isner hit 32 aces to book his place in the Madrid third round with a 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(6) victory over Bautista Agut in two hours and 23 minutes.

Isner saw a 5/2 lead evaporate in the deciding set tie-break as Bautista Agut won four straight points. The Spaniard served for the match at 6/5, but struck a forehand into the net as Isner remained clutch in baseline rallies. Isner then hit a huge forehand winner and went on to fire a kick serve to Bautista Agut’s backhand to complete a memorable win.

It was the 60th time in Isner’s career that he has won a deciding-set tie-break (60-49). The 36-year-old has now struck 60 aces in two matches this week, following 28 aces against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round on Monday.

Isner won’t be able to rest on his laurels. The former World No. 8 now prepares to face sixth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev, who has a 27-6 match record on the season. Isner won their only previous match 6-3, 6-4 in Miami six years ago.

Bautista Agut, who saved nine of 10 break points against Isner, is now 2-4 lifetime against Isner in their ATP Head2Head series. The 33-year-old lost to Jannik Sinner in the Miami semi-finals last month and is now 16-11 on the season.

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Popyrin On Nadal Showdown: 'I Don't Mind Being The Underdog'

Alexei Popyrin will have one of the biggest opportunities in his young career on Thursday when he faces top seed Rafael Nadal for the first time at the Mutua Madrid Open. For those who aren’t familiar with the Aussie, he will not be defeated mentally before the match begins.

“I’m not going to go out there thinking I’m going to lose one and one. I’m going to give it my all, put in a fight. I’m going to go out there believing that I can actually play because I believe I do have the level to play with him, even if it is his favourite surface, [even] if he is playing at home,” Popyrin said. “All the cards are in his favour right now, but I don’t mind being the underdog. I have been the underdog for most of my career, so I’m glad to be able to be one [here].”

This year’s Singapore champion doesn’t plan to let the moment get to him, and he won’t be intimidated by the legend across the net. Instead, Popyrin is going to focus on having fun.

“He’s the greatest of all-time on clay courts. I would have preferred to play him maybe on grass or hard courts, but that’s not the chance here,” Popyrin said, cracking a laugh. “I’ve got to play him on his favourite surface and he’s the greatest of all-time on this surface and one of the greatest of all-time [period].

“I’m just going to go out there, have fun, going to  [use] a little bit of tactics, maybe watch a little bit of his 2009 loss against Soderling. Maybe I can get some tips from there. Other than that, I’m just go out there and have fun.”

Popyrin doesn’t just want to watch that memorable Soderling victory from Roland Garros in 2009 because it was a match Nadal lost on clay. The Aussie believes there are similarities between his game and the Swede’s.

“I see big serve, big forehand. I’m not going to watch how Thiem beats him or how anybody else who is not big [plays him]. Maybe Del Potro, but I don’t know if he beat him on clay,” Popyrin said. “That’s a match I can think of from the top of my head that the games are pretty similar, and that’s what I want to watch. Hopefully I can do what he did, but that’s going to be tough.”

The World No. 76 was certainly not handed a spot in the third round. Popyrin earned it with exceptional play in the second round, taking the action to Jannik Sinner, who is one of the biggest hitters on the ATP Tour.

“I think my game is up there with the people who are ranked inside the Top 20. It’s just a matter of time until I figure it out and not give away cheap points when I don’t have to,” Popyrin said. “I think that’s been my main downfall and that’s something I have been trying to work on. When it does come together, I’m not surprised.”

This won’t be Popyrin’s first big challenge against a top player this year. In Miami, he had Daniil Medvedev against the ropes. But despite cramping, the Russian found a way to win 7-6(3), 6-7(7), 6-4 after two hours and 37 minutes.

“I came into the match against him feeling confident I could match his level. That’s what I did, apart from a few sloppy points what I said earlier that I want to get rid of in my game. In important moments, [playing] sloppy points, that’s what cost me the match against him,” Popyrin said. “That’s something that I want to get rid of in my game, and once I do that, I think I’ll be fine.”

Popyrin admitted that when he arrived in Madrid, he didn’t carry much confidence on clay. The 21-year-old had not made it past the second round of the main draw in three previous clay-court events this year. But that hasn’t stopped him from finding his form at the Caja Magica.

“It’s just a matter of getting everything to click together, not to lose that belief. But going into this week, I didn’t have the best confidence, especially playing the first round [of] qualifying,” Popyrin said. “I think that was my hardest match mentally to kind of get the motivation to qualify again and then to play on clay courts. But I think I brought my confidence back now, to be honest. I’m just excited for tomorrow.”

Did You Know?
Popyrin is at a career-high No. 76 and he will climb to a new career-high after his performance this week regardless of whether he defeats Nadal. The Aussie is not defending any ranking points in Madrid or Rome (where he is entered in qualifying), and is only defending 45 points at Roland Garros.

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Nadal On Alcaraz: 'I Really Believe He Is Going To Be A Fantastic Player'

Rafael Nadal only lost three games on Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open against Carlos Alcaraz, the 18-year-old who many believe might be the next great Spanish player. Despite the lopsided scoreline, Nadal had many positive things to say about his #NextGenATP countryman.

“When you make a salad and you are putting ingredients inside the salad, he has plenty of ingredients to become a great player,” Nadal said. “That’s the main thing. Then of course, nothing is easy.

“You’re going to have big opponents in front. Nothing is easy in this life. Being one of the best players in the world and fighting for the most important titles is something very difficult, but I really believe that he’s one of the guys [who] can do it.”

Nadal discussed Alcaraz’s aggressive game and how much potential the teenager has.

“He’s a young and good guy,” Nadal said. “He already has a great level of tennis today, but I really believe that he is going to be a fantastic player in the near future.

“I wish him all the very best. [As a] Spanish player and [as a] Spanish fan, I really believe that we need somebody like him, and it’s great to have him here.”

Already World No. 120, Alcaraz is the youngest player in the Top 500 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. Nadal explained how rare it is to see a player that age with the Murcia-native’s skills.

“When somebody at his age is able to do the things that he’s doing, it’s because you have something special. And at the same time, he’s humble enough to keep working. He’s passionate about the game,” Nadal said. “I really believe that he’s a complete player. He’s brave, he’s able to go to the net very often. Great forehand, great backhand. Of course, [he] needs to improve a little bit the serve, but he’s just 18 today, so he has plenty of time.”

Nadal won 63 per cent of his return points on Wednesday. The five-time Madrid champion is always fully focussed on the player in front of him, so he will quickly turn his attention to Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin, who defeated Jannik Sinner in the second round.

“He has a huge serve, great forehand, young, another tough opponent. But here we are in a Masters 1000, so we can’t expect another thing,” Nadal said. “I hope to be ready to play well. That’s what I’m going to need every single day if I want to have chances to keep playing. Tomorrow is another tough battle. I hope to be ready.”

The top seed is happy to be competing at the Caja Magica, where he is enjoying the support from his home fans.

“[I] enjoyed a lot being back [at] this very important place in front of probably the most loyal crowd in the world for me, so I enjoyed playing in front of them,” Nadal said. “Even if it was not a comfortable start against a very young and great player like Carlos, I think I played a solid match and I did what I had to do to be through. [I’m] very happy about the performance today.”

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Popyrin Beats Sinner To Earn Nadal Clash In Madrid

Alexei Popyrin passed a tough test on Wednesday, defeating Miami finalist Jannik Sinner 7-6(5), 6-2 to reach the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open. Now an even tougher challenge awaits: five-time champion Rafael Nadal.

The Aussie advanced to the Round of 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time to earn his first shot at the legendary Spaniard. This will be just his second match against a member of the Big Three — Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer — after losing against Djokovic in Tokyo two years ago. 

For the first 45 minutes of his clash against Sinner, it appeared the 22-year-old would not get that chance. Sinner, who is at a career-high No. 18 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, served for the first set and seemed comfortable in rallies. 

But the Italian made an unforced error to allow Popyrin back on serve, and from there the tone of the match shifted. Although Sinner took the early lead in the first-set tie-break, Popyrin often found himself on the front foot in key moments, using his powerful game to keep the 19-year-old from taking control.

Popyrin, a qualifier in Madrid, will have to do the same against Nadal with a quarter-final spot on the line. The 21-year-old, who lifted his first ATP Tour trophy earlier this year in Singapore, is 1-6 against Top 10 opponents. He advanced past Dominic Thiem in the second round at the 2019 Australian Open.

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Madrid Open: Dan Evans wins, Ashleigh Barty beats Petra Kvitova

British number one Dan Evans continues his good form on clay to reach the Madrid Open last 16 by beating Australia’s John Millman.

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Medvedev Gets His Wish, Off To Winning Start In Madrid

Daniil Medvedev got his wish on Wednesday to win at least one match this week at the Mutua Madrid Open. The second-seeded Russian broke a six-match tour-level losing streak on clay with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in two hours and 13 minutes.

“I am happy with the win,” said Medvedev. “The first set wasn’t easy and I thought it was going to be where I had another 25 break points and I wouldn’t win. I finally played quite well and did well in the third set. I think Madrid is a little faster than other clay tournaments, so better for my game.”

Medvedev, who was playing his first match since losing to Roberto Bautista Agut on 31 March at the Miami Open presented by Itau, improved to an 18-3 match record in 2021 and will next challenge Chilean No. 16 seed Cristian Garin, who was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Dominik Koepfer of Germany.

Following an exchange of breaks midway through the first set, Davidovich Fokina clinched the 53-minute opener when Medvedev struck a backhand long. Medvedev broke to lead 3-1 in the second set, before Davidovich Fokina worked his way back and led 3-3, 40/15. From there, it was all Medvedev, who reduced his error count. The 25-year-old finished their first ATP Head2Head meeting with an ace, his 19th winner, and is now 5-0 in deciding set match this season.

Medvedev finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final and went on to capture his 10th ATP Tour title at the Open 13 in Marseille (d. Herbert) in March. He has a chance to rise to No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings if he captures the Madrid title, reaches at least the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals and other results go his way.

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Preview: Schwartzman v Karatsev; Medvedev Returns

In second-round Mutua Madrid Open action on Wednesday, seventh seed Diego Schwartzman will have his hands full when he faces Aslan Karatsev.

Karatsev upset the World No. 9 in the third round of the Australian Open in straight sets on his road to the semi-finals. The Russian has since won his biggest ATP Tour title in Dubai and notched an upset over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Belgrade. He enters the ATP Masters 1000 at a career-high FedEx ATP ranking of World No. 27. 

Schwartzman, a winner in Buenos Aires earlier this season, reached the quarter-finals in Barcelona and took a week off before arriving in Madrid. They’ll be the first match on at 11:00 am inside Stadium 3.

In other early Wednesday action, fifth seed Alexander Zverev will take on Kei Nishikori in a battle between two previous US Open finalists. The two haven’t faced off since 2018, and Nishikori, a former World No. 4, has been coming back from a right elbow injury. He outlasted Karen Khachanov in three sets on Tuesday, improving to 9-8 this season.

Second seed Daniil Medvedev will start play inside Manolo Santana Stadium against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. After testing positive for COVID-19 in Monte-Carlo, this will be Medvedev’s 2021 clay-court debut.

“Coming back was not easy the first four, five days especially after laying ten days in your bed at home,” Medvedev said. “ Of course, looking forward to playing here.”

In other second-round matches, Stefanos Tsitsipas will compete under the lights against Benoit Paire. Paire topped Munich champion Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 7-5 on Tuesday. 

“I feel much better now after the holidays,” Paire said. “Mentally, I’m very fresh, so it will be a tough match, for sure, but I think I have some chances to win this match.”

Wednesday will also see the highly anticipated showdown between top seed Rafael Nadal and 17-year-old Spanish wild card Carlos Alcaraz.

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, MAY 05, 2021

MANOLO SANTANA STADIUM start 11:00 am
A. Davidovich Fokina (ESP) vs [2] D. Medvedev (RUS)
WTA MATCH – [1] Ashleigh Barty (AUS) vs [9] Petra Kvitova (CZE)

Not Before 3:00 pm
[1] R. Nadal (ESP) vs [WC] C. Alcaraz (ESP)

Not Before 7:00 pm

WTA MATCH – [5] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) vs [13] Elise Mertens (BEL)

Not Before 8:00 pm

B. Paire (FRA) vs [4] S. Tsitsipas (GRE)

ARANTXA SANCHEZ STADIUM start 11:00 am

WTA MATCH – [WC] Paula Badosa (ESP) vs [8] Belinda Bencic (SUI)
K. Nishikori (JPN) vs [5] A. Zverev (GER)

WTA MATCH – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs TBD
[9] R. Bautista Agut (ESP) vs J. Isner (USA)

C. Ruud (NOR) vs [LL] Y. Nishioka (JPN)

STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am

[7] D. Schwartzman (ARG) vs A. Karatsev (RUS)

J. Millman (AUS) vs D. Evans (GBR)
[Q] A. Popyrin (AUS) vs [14] J. Sinner (ITA)

[1] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) vs R. Bopanna (IND) / D. Shapovalov (CAN)

COURT 4 start 11:00 am 
[16] C. Garin (CHI) vs D. Koepfer (GER)
[3] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG) vs K. Khachanov (RUS) / A. Rublev (RUS)
A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) vs [Q] F. Delbonis (ARG)

TBA [7] W. Koolhof (NED) / L. Kubot (POL) vs M. Demoliner (BRA) / D. Medvedev (RUS)

COURT 6 start 11:00 am

J. Chardy (FRA) / F. Martin (FRA) vs [6] P. Herbert (FRA) / N. Mahut (FRA)

After Suitable Rest – [WC] A. Davidovich Fokina (ESP) / F. Verdasco (ESP) vs T. Fritz (USA) / O. Marach (AUT)

After Suitable Rest – ATP – [5] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR) vs A. Bublik (KAZ) / C. Garin (CHI)
After Suitable Rest – ATP – T. Puetz (GER) / A. Zverev (GER) vs M. Melo (BRA) / J. Rojer (NED)

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Medvedev's Chase For World No. 1

Daniil Medvedev is making his clay-court season debut at the Mutua Madrid Open. And over the next two weeks, the Russian star will be battling for more than just titles in Madrid and Rome.

With strong efforts at the Caja Magica and the Foro Italico, Medvedev will turn up the heat on Novak Djokovic in the battle for World No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Medvedev has a chance to ascend to No. 1 by the end of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. If the Russian wins his first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 title in Madrid or Rome and advances to at least the semi-finals at the other tournament, and Djokovic does not make the Rome final, Medvedev will become the first player outside the Big Four to hold World No. 1 since Andy Roddick was there the week of 26 January 2004.

This will be a tough task for Medvedev, who has never won a match in Madrid, Rome or at Roland Garros. But nevertheless it is a big opportunity.

“As soon as you reach No. 2, of course you want to stay [there] as much time as possible. But at the same time the next goal, if you want to improve, is to get to No. 1,” Medvedev said. “It’s not like you need to just go to your house and for one month run around your flat 10 times every day and you’re going to become No. 1. It’s all about playing good, winning big titles, so It’s not a goal that you can achieve logically. You just need to play very good and win huge titles and that’s what I will be trying to do.” 

Medvedev currently sits at World No. 3, having been passed by Rafael Nadal for No. 2 following the Spaniard’s Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell victory. The Russian is 2,263 points behind Djokovic. But that gap is not as wide as it appears. 

Points Dropping In Madrid, Rome & Paris

Medvedev has relatively few points to defend in the coming weeks. The Russian will drop a combined 15 points in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros compared to 1,600 for Djokovic and 2,090 for Nadal.

Djokovic is not in action this week in Madrid, but he will keep 500 points (50% of the points from his 2019 title) due to the current “best of” FedEx ATP Ranking formula, which has been recalibrated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Serbian is guaranteed to keep at least 500 points in Rome, where he won the title last year. He is still plenty motivated to keep his top spot, which he has held for a record 319 weeks.

“In order to stay at the top ranking spot, you have to keep playing and not just keep playing, but keep making successful runs at most of your events in order to have a chance,” Djokovic said. “Being at No. 1 is also a huge responsibility, but you feel that rear window pressure from Daniil at this point or Rafa or whoever it is. There’s always somebody. The challengers want to get there. They want to challenge you, they want to push you.

“I think the more they push me, the more I have motivation to work even harder to stay there.”

Nadal at a minimum will hold onto 180 points in Madrid (50% of the points from his 2019 semi-final) and 90 points in Rome (50% of his 2020 quarter-final). Since Medvedev has not won a match at those events, he will only drop five points from each (50% from opening-match exits).

Medvedev has not played since Miami because of a positive COVID-19 test ahead of Monte-Carlo. But the Russian has enjoyed success on clay before. In 2019, Medvedev made the Monte-Carlo semi-finals and the Barcelona final. The Russian admits it would feel “amazing” if he’s able to battle his way to World No. 1.

“It’s one of the goals of the career. When you go from the juniors to professionals, you want to get in the Top 1,000, then you want to get in the Top 500 and [those are] small goals. Now I’ve reached almost every place except the No. 1 [spot], so it’s going to definitely mean a lot [if I get there],” Medvedev said. “But I’m sure especially if you ask people [who have been there] that as soon as you reach, it you’re going to start thinking, ‘Okay, how do I stay here? How do I win more titles?'”

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