'What Carlos Alcaraz did is still impressive for...', says ATP ace

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Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz played their second duel in the Indian Wells semifinal. The two Spaniards trained before the tournament and scored four victories each to prepare for the semifinal duel. They turned it into an open war, and Nadal won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 after three hours and 12 minutes! It was Rafa's 20th win in as many matches in 2022, beating an 18-year-old and emerging on a high to reach his fourth straight final. The two Spaniards pushed themselves to the maximum in difficult conditions and almost impossible to play. Nadal won four more points than Alcaraz and converted six of 21 breaking chances to emerge in the lead. Carlos defended 15 break points and stole Rafa's serve on five occasions, fighting like a warrior in his first Masters 1000 semi-final, but ending up on the losing end. Nadal had a slight advantage in long rallies. However, there was nothing that separated them, except that late break that the oldest of the Spaniards got in the last set. Rafa served 79% in the first set, but that hardly helped him in windy conditions. He lost 13 of 28 points after the initial blow and suffered two breaks from as many opportunities offered to the youngster. For his part, Carlos experienced a roller coaster in his games. The teenager offered the more experienced player a whopping 17 break chances, and he defended 14! Even so, three return games were enough for Rafa to win the first game 6-4 and get closer to the goal. Alcaraz landed a forehand winner on the opening point of the match and a backhand cross winner to earn an early break. In the second game, the teenager fended off five break points and closed out the match with a smash winner to cement his lead and move up 2-0. The three-time champion broke again in the fourth game after a weak forehand from his opponent to seal the result at 2-2 after a grueling 27 minutes.

Matteo Berrettini on Carlos Alcaraz 

Matteo Berrettini has praised Carlos Alcaraz for taking his chances in the 2022 season to rise to the top of the men's game. "It feels unbelievable if you think about it, what he [Carlos Alcaraz] achieved in such a short time. I remember playing him in Australia at the beginning of the year and I played him Rio as well, and I felt he is a great player but what he did is still impressive for his age. The physicality he already has and everything, also mentally it’s not easy to deal with everything that he dealt with, so it’s impressive," Berrettini said. "At the same time we know that tennis it’s really tough, but it’s not impossible, we all know we can play our best tennis, I have to say it was a weird year with Novak not playing most of the slams, it was kind of a little weird. But Carlos deserves the world No. 1," he expressed.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/wpb9EGX

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