MADRID—Rafael Nadal one day. Novak Djokovic the next.
The list of victims of Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz keeps growing.
And so does the hype over tennis’s newest sensation.
After defeating his idol Nadal in the quarterfinals on Friday, the 19-year-old Alcaraz rallied to beat top-ranked Djokovic, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5), after more than three-and-a-half hours on Saturday to reach the Madrid Open final.
“It was one of those matches to enjoy,” Alcaraz said. “Despite the tension, despite being the semifinals, being 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker … I’ve enjoyed it. Until the last point I was being able to smile.”
In the women’s final, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia won her biggest career title by defeating Jessica Pegula of the US in three sets.
Jabeur, the first Arab woman in the top 10, won, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3, for her second career title.
“When I had the match point, I was like, I had to win it from the beginning, otherwise it’s going to be very tough for me,” Jabeur said. “But I’m very happy and trying to realize that I won today, really.”
Pegula, a one-time tour winner, will reach a career-high No. 11 ranking on Monday.
Alcaraz became the first player to beat Nadal and Djokovic at the same clay-court event. He converted his third match point in front of a raucous home crowd on the Caja Mágica center court.
Image credits: AP