Five-time champion and top seed Rafael Nadal eased past his teenaged compatriot Carlos Alcaraz and into the third round at the ATP Madrid Open in straight sets. Nadal looked very sharp and focused from the off, having arrived in the Spanish capital fresh from a confidence-building run to the title in Barcelona last week. Despite the fact that it was Alcaraz’s 18th birthday, the Mallorcan showed no mercy, winning the match in under an hour-and-a-half.
Alcaraz played some good shots in the early stages in his attempt to stay with his illustrious countryman, but was on the backfoot throughout. After going down an early break, his hopes took another hit when he overextended himself reaching for a ball high on his backhand side at 0-2 15/15, necessitating a medical time out. Nadal continued to dominate the match thereafter, with the world #2 showing why he’s won the most clay-court tournaments in the history of the sport.
Nadal’s serve had been his Achilles heel in the early weeks of the clay-court season, which saw him crash out in the last eight in Monte Carlo and struggle early on in Barcelona, but that wasn’t the case against Alcaraz, as he won 81 percent of his first-serve points. Alcaraz, meanwhile, played well at times, landing one particularly impressive forehand winner to break Nadal midway through the second set although the match was lost by then. He showed few signs of nerves or tension and appeared to enjoy his time on the court with Nadal.
“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. So I think if I could play more matches like this, I will grow up faster as a player.”
Following the match, both opponents embraced and had a mini-party on the Manolo Santana Stadium, with tournament director Feliciano Lopez and Nadal singing happy birthday to the young star, who had received a birthday present of sorts in playing against his childhood idol.
“He has a lot of potential. He’s young and [a] good guy,” Nadal said after the match. “He already has a great level of tennis today, but I really believe that he’s going to be a fantastic player in the near future. I wish him all the very best. [As a] Spanish player and Spanish [tennis] fan, I really believe that we need somebody like him, and it’s great to have him here.”
Next up for Nadal is Alexei Popyrin, who beat another NextGen star, Jannik Sinner, in straight sets 7-6 6-2. Nadal will not want to underestimate the powerful Australian, who won his first tour-level title in Singapore earlier this year, but the Spaniard will understandably be the heavy favourite going into the match. But to have a chance at a sixth Madrid title, the five-time champion will have to maintain his level and intensity with some potentially tough test waiting for him.
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