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Carlos Alcaraz Paid Cool Tribute to Rafael Nadal Before French Open Semifinal Win

This was so cool.

Tim Capurso

Alcaraz snapping a photo of Nadal's footprint plaque at Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Alcaraz snapping a photo of Nadal's footprint plaque at Court Philippe-Chatrier. / Screengrab Twitter @rolandgarros

Carlos Alcaraz paid a cool tribute to his idol, fellow countryman and tennis legend Rafael Nadal before his French Open semifinal victory over Lorenzo Musetti on Friday. Nadal, a 22-time major winner who won a record 14 French Opens during his decorated ATP Tour career, left his mark on the courts at Roland Garros both literally and figuratively.

After his retirement at the end of the 2024 season, Nadal was honored with a tribute ceremony during the first week of the French Open, and Roland Garros gave him a perfect tribute in the form of one of his footprints in a plaque on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

In a cool moment before his match, Alcaraz took a quick photo of Nadal's plaque.

After the match, Alcaraz was asked about the moment and Nadal, whom he said he still takes "inspiration" from.

"I think it was the first time I could warm up before the match here on Chatrier," Alcaraz said, via The Tennis Letter. "So I tried to make the most of the time. Took a bit of time to take a picture of that. Having a little bit of Rafa Nadal on Philippe-Chatrier while I’m playing is a great inspiration. I try not to think about it too much in the match.

"But in difficult matches, I think about the effort and the level of Rafa, how he’s fighting all the time. He never gives up. I try to think about it and try to do it myself. All I could do is take a memory of that plaque from Rafa Nadal."

Alcaraz, the defending champion at Roland Garros, is looking to do something that hasn't been done in Paris since Nadal in 2019 and 2020: win back-to-back French Open titles.

He'll await the winner of the other men's semifinal between world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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