Tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz was quite a week old. He turned 19 on Thursday. On Friday, he defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open and thus became the only teenager to ever beat the Spaniard on clay. Then, on Saturday, Alcaraz defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Saturday’s match between Alcaraz and Djokovic lasted three and a half hours, and in the end it ended with the victory of the Spaniard 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) over the Serb. The seventh player in the world will face in the final on Sunday or no. 2 Alexander Zverev or with no. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
With his recent two wins, Alcaraz became the first tennis player in history to beat Nadal and Djokovic in consecutive clay court matches.
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This 19-year-old has become the face of a new era in tennis. He has already won three titles so far in 2022, the Rio Open in February, and the Miami Open and Barcelona Open in April. In addition, Alcaraz won the Croatia Open in 2021, meaning he could win his fifth career title on Sunday.
Is it possible that Alcaraz could also win its first grand slam tournament in the next month? The French Open starts on Monday, May 16, and the Spaniard has the second best odds at +215 on the SI Sportsbook behind Nadal (+130), leading in history with 21 grand slam titles. Djokovic has the third best odds at +230.
Alcaraz’s world rankings are predicted to rise on Monday. He will currently climb one place to 6th place, but with a title at the Madrid Open, it is possible he could continue to climb the rankings.
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