GABRIELLE BOUIS / AFP via Getty Images
Legend of Carlos Alcaras continued to grow on Saturday when the 19-year-old tennis superstar defeated Novak Djokovic in a three-set thriller at the Madrid Open.
Alcaras, who also beat Rafael Nadal in three sets to meet Djokovic in the semifinals, won a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over the world’s top-ranked tennis player.
Alcaras, who is number 9 in the ATP rankings, will face the winner of the match Alexander Zverev against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Alcaras enjoyed a great 2022 season, which includes titles at the Rio Open, Miami Open and Barcelona Open. He also reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, but lost to Nadal in three sets.
But then Alcaras defeated Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals to face Djokovic. Defeating the last player, Alcaras went down in history:
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1 – Carlos pic.twitter.com/YZpA3PfvgS
It took nearly four hours for the Alcaras-Djokovic match to end, but this mainline winner won the Spaniard’s victory.
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REMEMBER THIS MOMENT 🙌
Match point like pic.twitter.com/5XhUInYuzu
Alcaras talks about what it meant for him to beat world number one after the match:
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“It’s amazing to win number one, especially here in Madrid. It was an atmosphere I will never forget. It reflects all the work we’ve done and the level I’ve built for all the tournaments” – Carlos Alcaras told ATP TV after beating Nadal & Djokovic
He will also be among the top six in the ATP rankings on Monday. A year ago, Alcaras was No. 120.
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Carlos Alcaras, whose goal for 2022 was to enter the top 15, is guaranteed to be number 6 on Monday pic.twitter. com / y48DzNwMO3
Alcaras will now head to the finals on Sunday. He has faced his two potential opponents before. Alcaraz is 3-0 against Tsitsipas (2-0 hard, 1-0 hard) and 0-2 against Zverev (0-2 hard).
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