Young without limits? Alcaraz beat Nadal to face Djokovic tonight!

The excitement mixed with trepidation, the nervousness and the timid anticipation, is how I felt when I watched Nadal play last night. I suspect I'm not the only one who feels the same way.

As a brilliant forehand cross-ball landed in the corner of Nadal's bounds, Alcaraz excitedly wrapped his arms around his head. At that moment, all emotions turned into incredible surprises.

It was a surprise for the realization of dreams. Nothing could be happier than a surprise like this – beating his childhood idol in a near-triumphal manner in the decider on The Centre Court in his own capital, in the spotlight of all his compatriots.

Alcaraz, who had just celebrated his 19th birthday, won a perfect victory and received the best birthday gift that was belated. During the routine post-match signing session, Alcaraz wrote unusual sentences on camera footage, "What just happened?" ”

Yes, what just happened?

Following in Alcaraz's footsteps, we push our minds forward to see similar scenes that have happened in the past.

In the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001, the 19-year-old Federer defeated Sampras 7-6 (7) 5-7 6-4 6-7 (2) 7-5, and he played a total of 109 serves in the whole game, beating the idol in an idol way, even using the same racket as the idol Wilson Pro Staff.

Go back further. In the 1990 US Open semifinals, 19-year-old Sampras defeated McEnro 6-2, 6-4, 3-6 6-3. Two weeks later, McEnroe sat in the dressing room at Stanford University, recalling what happened that day on the U.S. tennis court, "The Sampras guy, cool like a tender green, prickly cucumber." ”

In the 1999 Indian Wells Women's Singles Final, 17-year-old Serena Williams defeated Graf 6-3-6 7-5. In their careers, 1999 was the year that gave special significance, with 30-year-old Graf winning the French Open title on her birthday month, her 22nd and final Grand Slam title, and 18-year-old Serena williams winning the U.S. Open title on her birthday month, her first Grand Slam title.

From Graf to Serena Williams, from McEnroe to Sampras, from Sampras to Federer, and then to the current Alcaraz and Nadal, the pace of tennis update iterations has never stopped.

In the process, the mood and feelings of the previous generation of players were exhausted by Evert in 1977.

In 1977, when Everett set foot on Wimbledon's centre court with Austin, who was 8 years her junior, she quickly found herself playing with her younger self. As a woman who is very sensitive to age, as a player who has experienced from infancy to maturity to greatness, such a feeling deeply stung her.

My guess is that Nadal may have had a similar mood and feelings to Evert last night. However, Nadal said it more subtly. "I've done what I can. I've had better days and worse days. But all that is happening today is not a disaster in any way. I think I'm playing with the right attitude. I played two and a half hours and played three sets, (although I lost), but I thought it was a positive outcome. ”

The positive result Nadal is talking about is mainly looking ahead to the next French Open, not for the game he just lost. In fact, Nadal said before the match against Alcaraz, "For me, the most important thing is not who will perform better tomorrow, but who will get better in three weeks (of the French Open), that is my goal." ”

Despite thinking he was playing with the "right attitude", Nadal still seemed a bit erratic in his mentality. For example, his final shot at Alcaraz's forehand was clearly somewhat conservative and underestimated his opponent's strong ability to move and defend. Nadal thought it would be safer for him to play that angle, and enough to make a forced mistake or let himself intercept and score, but he did not expect to be hit by the opponent with a winning score.

Reflecting on the victory, Alcaraz said: "The fall in the second set had a big impact on me. When I lost the second set, I went to the bathroom. When I come back, I'm going to try everything as much as I can, I'm going to fight to the last ball, which is the key to winning in the end. ”

After defeating Nadal, Alcaraz will face world number one Djokovic in the semi-finals. Historical data from the past shows that no one can beat Nadal and Djokovic back-to-back on clay.

In 2016, Murray beat Nadal in the Madrid semi-finals before losing to Djokovic in the final. In 2017, Thiem defeated Nadal in the quarter-finals of Roma and lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals. In 2019, Tsitsipas defeated Nadal in the Madrid semi-finals and lost to Djokovic in the final.

However, there are people in history who have won consecutive victories over Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in the same race, and it happened in Madrid, but at that time, the type of venue in Madrid was still hard.

In 2007, Argentine player Nalbandian defeated Nadal 6-1 6-2 in the Quarter-Finals in Madrid, Djokovic 6-4 7-6 (4) in the semi-finals and Federer 1-6 6-3 in the final.

Alcaraz joked that he would seek advice from Nalbandian before the semi-finals. Asked if he was confident of beating the two giants back-to-back, Alcaraz said: "Of course, of course. I will focus on tomorrow's race. I would text Nalbandian and ask him how he did it (laughs). I'll fight, let's see what happens tomorrow. ”

At 10 o'clock Beijing time tonight, this remarkable battle is about to start. Alcaraz is often seen as Nadal's successor, while dissidents see him playing more like Djokovic.

So, do you think the youngster, who is both Nadal and Djokovic, can achieve the feat of the two giants of Leenk tonight?

Finally, if you want to watch this match live for free, please go to the WeChat public account "Madrid Incredible!" Djokovic fights Murray again tonight after five years" The message section of this article is looking for answers. (Source: Tennis House Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu)