Indian Wells, Nadal beats Alcaraz 2-1: he is in the final

The good sailor is known in storms. Never said he was more apt for the highly anticipated semifinal between Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. An extraordinary match, spectacular, intense and heavily conditioned by a storm of wind and sand from the desert which for most of the 3 hours and 12 of the match put the two in serious difficulty. In the end, the best sailor, the most experienced and able to lead the game was Nadal able to tame the teenager in 6-4 4-6 6-3 and hit the final, but the difference between student and teacher is now thinner and thinner. “He played in an incredible way – said Rafa -. I couldn’t stop him with his fantastic shots. Then with the wind the conditions were absurd, it wasn’t fun but in the third set I was more aggressive and I’m very happy to be still here in the final. “. Where today (no earlier than 11pm, live Sky Tennis) he will face Taylor Fritz.

On the eve of the semifinal, the 13-year-old Roland Garros champion had sweet words for the young rival: “He’s humble, a good guy, he works hard and he wants to get there. He remembers me a little when I was his age.” It is difficult not to be paralyzed by emotion after such a certificate of esteem from the greatest ever, the one you asked for autographed photos as a child, but Alcaraz 18 has them only on his identity card and when he takes the field it is not for nothing scared or, at least, he’s so good that he doesn’t show it.

The two had already met last year, at the Masters 1000 in Madrid, it was May 5, the day of the baby talent’s 18th birthday, and Rafa had given him a memorable tennis lesson.

Aggressive

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The 18-year-old from Murcia immediately slaps the phenomenon with a break at the opening. Nadal, unbeaten in 19 consecutive games, is used to comebacks and in the second game, which lasted 18 interminable minutes, he has five chances to catch up without succeeding. At 2-1 for Carlos there are still 3 balls of the counterbreak for Nadal, and this time a ball sent into the net by the shoot allows him to return to 2-2. From 0-2 Nadal puts the arrow: with four consecutive games he climbs 3-2 and breaks the serve at the first break point for the 4-2. He is a much more aggressive Rafa than usual and the intensity of the match is very high, breathtaking. Once again Alcaraz makes up for the disadvantage. We come back on need with four breaks in seven games, an exhilarating tug of war. Pugnetto di Alcaraz, who continually seeks the approval gaze of the mentor Ferrero, former number 1 in the world. But again, Nadal, he has three break points. From 0-40 Carlitos really proves to be the designated heir of the southpaw: he recovers 40-40, cancels three more break points and keeps the serve. At 5-4 Rafa, Alcaraz again has three set points against and once again returns 40-40. At the fourth set point, Nadal’s forehand mistake puts a hand over his eyes, incredulous. But the wind, which comes in gusts, gives him a fifth opportunity, Carlitos’ ball comes out and after 1 hour and 6 minutes the left-hander is ahead 1 set to 0.

Wind opponent

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In the second set the wind becomes more and more annoying, it moves the ball in an important way and also makes the towels fly away from the corners. Nadal’s talisman bottles also wobble.

The battle is also very intense, exchanges close to 30 hits. The first break point of the second set arrives for Alcaraz: the teenager sprints ahead 3-2 and serves but Nadal immediately catches him back at 3-3. The third wheel, the wind, shuffles the cards on the table, sends back the volleys and unfortunately lowers the level of a match that could have been even more spectacular. In the seventh game it is still Alcaraz who snatches the joke from his rival, guilty of a few too many mistakes. Between gusts that make the ball splash along unexplored trajectories and sheets that hover in the air, the left-handed is back on even: 4-4. But there is not a moment of respite for him that after having canceled six break points, on the seventh he must surrender to the boy’s ringworm, his mental strength and frustration with the weather conditions. Carlitos beats 5-4 and takes the game to the third set.

The grand finale

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At 2-2, once again over ten minutes, Nadal gives away with the forehand and still risks the disadvantage, the wind drops a bit and the show still grows in intensity, technique and emotion. He keeps the left-handed serve and lets himself go to an exultation that says a lot about the weight of the match. At 4-3 Rafa calls the physio for a pain in his left shoulder, gets treated quickly, takes the field and breaks the serve from the champion who is inevitably stunned. Nadal wins again, unbeaten in 20 consecutive games since the beginning of 2022. And that’s not all.