Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz: a duel without limits or borders

The confrontation cannot be reduced to a mere generational struggle.

(Manacor, 1986) almost twice the age of

(El Palmar, 2003), but still represents the vigorous present.

Neither can the party be constrained to national boundaries, since it is evident that we are facing a duel that transcends any border.

On one side of the ring, the best tennis player in history to date, winner of 21 Grand Slam titles, undefeated throughout 2022, with 19 wins and three aggregate titles that make a total of 91, the champion of the Open of Australia, the competitor with the well-earned indestructible aura.

In the other corner of the ring, the great sensation of the moment, the youngest winner of an ATP500 last February in Rio de Janeiro, the precocious racket that already has four victories against rivals located among the top 10 in the ranking, the kid called everything, already secured his jump from 19th to 15th place in the ranking while waiting for what happens this Saturday, at 7:00 p.m.

of Spain (televised by Vamos) in Indian Wells.

It's only the semifinals and it's only a Masters 1000, but the hook is extraordinary.

Somehow, then at Roland Garros, in 2005, he admits analogies with the semifinals between Nadal and

, the prelude to the first of the greats collected by the left-hander.

The tournament extended the game in style, as if it were, as it ended up being, an early final.

Praise for Nadal

Both players were seen together the day before, posed for the photographers and exchanged words of mutual admiration, in the best possible showcase for the ATP (Association of Professional Tennis Players) and the ITF (International Tennis Federation) to sell a show of maximum category.

Yesterday: «Carlos has an unstoppable career, he reminds me of myself when I was 18 years old.

He is humble, hard-working, has a passion for tennis and is a good guy.

He is going to be a great rival for now and for the next few months, without a doubt.

It's great to have a star from my country because tennis lovers are going to continue to enjoy an incredible player fighting for the most important titles for many years," Nadal said at the press conference after his three-set victory against

, when asked about a then still hypothetical crossing with Alcaraz.

"When he was my age he had already won a Grand Slam, it is incredible to know that Rafa says that he sees himself reflected in me at this age," replied Alcaraz after leaving Cameron Norrie behind, the explosive dispute already confirmed.

It was not exactly like that: Nadal had just turned 19 when he won the first of his 13 Roland Garros titles, but he was in a hurry, as he appeared in Paris with the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo and Rome, the latter in a final of those that portray him as a true thoroughbred, the five hours and 14 minutes against

that

, at the foot of the track, described as the best match he had ever seen.

the precedent

On May 5, 2021, in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open, Nadal beat Alcaraz 6-2, 6-1.

It was the day the Murcian, who blew out candles on the Manolo Santana track at the conclusion, came of age.

He was still tender.

He respected her.

He soon suffered an abdominal injury, who knows if as a result of anxiety.

From then on, it has not stopped growing.

Weeks later he won the first ATP title in Umag.

The explosion of him at the US Open would soon come, with the impressive victory against

in the third round.

The epilogue of 2021, in Turin, with the conquest of the NextGen ATP Finals, a tournament that clearly was too small for him.

Objective more than fulfilled: he finished the year 32nd, when it was budgeted to do it among the 50 best.

The narrative leans towards the newcomer, as if the qualifiers for his opponent, who in Indian Wells, debut,

left his mark, had already been consumed.

In case anyone had forgotten that in the Melbourne final he was two sets down, 2-3 in the third and 15-40, before emerging against

, he corrected against the American of Czech origin a double adverse break in the third (2 -5) to renew the astonishment among the witnesses.

Nadal, who has been champion in the Californian tournament in 2007, 2009 and 2013, is having the best start of his career.

Not even he could dream that at this point, when the chronic injury to his left foot that kept him stranded for six months seemed to force him to take extreme precautions and rationalize the schedule as much as possible, he would string together victories as if there were no tomorrow.

There is, because the umpteenth version of a player forced to reinvent himself can come out of the American hard court tour, Acapulco-Indian Wells, since he has given up Miami, with an unusual boost for the dirt course, where we already know how spent since he was a boy like the one you will find today in California.

different moments

absent

, he is accompanied by

and

, the friend and former player with whom he has strengthened his technical team this year.

He tells Nadal that he is not playing up to the level he did at the Australian Open.

It is true, because in addition to the initial hot flash against Korda, he suffered more than necessary in the round of 16 against the giant

and had to overcome logical difficulties against Kyrgios.

He has, however, quality, credit, trade and the inertia of the aforementioned sequence of triumphs to be considered a favorite.

After the aforementioned victory against Tsitsipas, the two wins against

and the one achieved against

, Alcaraz wants to collect the most coveted piece in his meteoric career.

His tournament is impeccable, like all of this year, in which he only has one defeat, the one suffered against the Italian in the round of 16 of the Australian Open, not without taking him to the five sets.

None have been left in this competition, with performances as dazzling as the one signed in the third round against

, 6-2 and 6-0, in a match that he himself described as one of the best in the still short career of he.

There is a reading of the party from the purely Spanish orbit.

Nadal's beginnings leave two significant triumphs, in which he showed his courage and his irreverent character.

In 2003, in the round of 32 of the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, he defeated

, who had won the title at Roland Garros the previous year.

Months later, that same year, he knocked down Carlos Moyà in Hamburg, the first number 1 that our tennis had.

Nadal, who has a favorable balance of 137 victories and only 21 defeats against his compatriots, began to gain experience marking territory against two Roland Garros champions, two men who are part of the best history of Spanish tennis.

Alcaraz wants to answer the first call of destiny.

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