Carlos Alcaraz Upsets Novak Djokovic Day After Beating Rafael Nadal
Tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz has had quite a week. On Thursday, he turned 19. On Friday, he beat Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open becoming the only teenager to ever beat the Spaniard on clay. Then, on Saturday, Alcaraz beat the No. 1 player in the world, Novak Djokovic, in the semifinals.
The Saturday match between Alcaraz and Djokovic lasted three and a half hours, ultimately finishing with the Spaniard’s 6–7(5), 7–5, 7–6(5) win over the Serbian. The No. 7 player in the world will either face No. 2 Alexander Zverev or No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final on Sunday.
With his recent two wins, Alcaraz became the first tennis player in history to beat Nadal and Djokovic in back-to-back matches on clay.
The 19-year-old has become the face of the new era in tennis. He’s already won three titles so far in 2022, the Rio Open in February, and the Miami Open and Barcelona Open in April. Additionally, Alcaraz won the 2021 Croatia Open, meaning on Sunday he could capture his fifth career title.
Is it possible that Alcaraz could win his first grand slam tournament within the next month, too? The French Open begins Monday, May 16, and the Spaniard has the second best betting odds at +215 on SI Sportsbook behind Nadal (+130), who leads the history books with 21 grand slam titles. Djokovic has the third best odds at +230.
Alcaraz’s world ranking is projected to go up on Monday. Right now he will move up one spot to No. 6, but with a Madrid Open title, it is possible he could continue rising up the rankings.
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