Carlos Alcras fulfilled today (Friday) one of the key dreams of his not-so-long career – defeating his idol, Rafael Nadal. The 19-year-old Spanish star, who is in a simply amazing year and has already become one of the best tennis players in the world, defeated the bull from Mallorca 2: 6, 6: 1 and 3: 6 in the quarterfinals of the clay tournament in Madrid.
The first act was all about the young star, but in the second set he experienced an injury that apparently affected him quite a bit and the legendary record holder took advantage of this and came back with a light 1: 6 of his own. But in the decisive set and with a simply fantastic ability, Landal, who only yesterday recorded a great comeback against the Belgian David Gofen, this time there were no answers against the powerful Alcras.
Rafa’s successor, as he has been known since the beginning of his career, was everywhere on the surface – he reached every ball and apparently proved to Nadal, who by the way is very accommodating to Alcras at every opportunity, that the generational change of world tennis is here, and big. Earlier, Novak Djokovic, ranked first in the world, defeated Hubert Horkash 3: 6, 4: 6 and secured his place in the semifinals.