In 30 matches this season, only three players have managed to defeat Carlos Alcaraz. In the last 27 matches, only two have done so.
Rafael Nadal, who beat Alcaraz in Indian Wells, couldn’t do it in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open. Novak Djokovic tried and failed in the semis. Now it is Alexander Zverev who hopes to deny Alcaraz a second Masters 1000 title.
Zverev may not be an all-time great like Nadal and Djokovic, but at this particular tournament he is as dangerous as anyone. The 25-year-old German is a two-time champion in Madrid, having lifted the trophy in 2018 and again last spring. Zverev is up to his usual tricks in the Spanish capital this week, with wins over Marin Cilic, Lorenzo Musetti, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He is now 19-2 lifetime in Madrid.
Also in Zverev’s favor is a 2-0 record in the head-to-head series. The world No. 3 dominated each of their first two encounters; 6-3, 6-1 early last season in Acapulco and 6-3, 6-3 on the hard courts of Vienna during the fall swing.
Of course, you can throw both of those results out the window given that Alcaraz is an entirely different player now. Vienna may have been barely more than six months ago and it still isn’t relevant at all. Alcaraz was good in 2021; now he is arguably the best player on tour. The 19-year-old is 24-3 in 2022 with titles in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, and Barcelona plus a semifinal showing in Indian Wells. After beating Nikoloz Basilashvili and Cameron Norrie in Madrid, Alcaraz became the first player ever to defeat Nadal and Djokovic in back-to-back matches on clay.
“It’s spectacular right now,” the Spaniard said following his 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) semifinal victory over Djokovic. “I am very happy. I’m very excited to be able to play these kind of matches, to be able to beat Rafa yesterday, to be able to beat the No. 1 today. So I’m super happy. It gives me a lot of confidence for tomorrow’s final.”
The only red flag for Alcaraz heading into the final is the mental and physical toll of those battles with Nadal and Djokovic–the latter of which lasted three hours and 35 minutes. However, Madrid’s No. 7 seed looks like a generational talent in both the mental and physical departments. He will also have a raucous crowd behind him and should be able to run on adrenaline for one more match. Moreover, Zverev went three sets with Tsitsipas in the semis and did not get off the court until after 1:00 am.
For Alcaraz, there’s no stopping now.
Pick: Alcaraz in 2
What a week!!…vamos Carlos!
Sorry, but I think Vamos should be reserved for Rafa!! After all he was the one who made “Vamos” a household word bcoz none of the Spanish players before popularized it!! I even heard Evans say Vamos in Madrid last week, lol!!! Carlos says it too but he’ll have to find some other word, sorry, but I don’t care!!