Teenager Carlos Alcaraz first to beat Nadal, Djokovic at same clay-court event

Carlos Alcaraz made consecutive victories over tennis legends at the Madrid Open on Saturday afternoon as the 19-year-old Spaniard clinched a stirring 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) win over Novak Djokovic at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

The Spanish sensation backed up his win over Rafael Nadal in Friday’s quarter-finals in spectacular style on Manolo Santana Stadium, recovering from the disappointment of losing a first-set tie-break to complete the biggest win of his career against World No. 1 Djokovic.

“I don’t know what the difference [between us] was,” said Alcaraz after his three-hour, 35-minute win. “It was so close. He had the chances to break my serve at the end of the second set. In the first set as well it was so close in the tie-break. Honestly I don’t know what made the difference.”

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The win makes the Spaniard the first player ever to beat Nadal and Djokovic at the same clay-court event and moves him to a 27-3 match record for the season.

Alcaraz’s outstanding 2022 season has seen the teenager win a maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami and break the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time. Defeating Nadal and Djokovic back-to-back in Madrid extends his winning streak over Top 10 opponents to six.

• Europe