Teen star tops No. 1 Djokovic

MADRID — Rafael Nadal one day. Novak Djokovic the next.

The list of victims of Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz keeps growing — and so does the hype over the newest sensation in men’s tennis.

After defeating his idol and countryman Nadal in the quarterfinals Friday, the 19-year-old Alcaraz rallied to beat topranked Djokovic 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) after more than 3 1/2 hours Saturday to reach the Madrid Open final.

“It was one of those matches to enjoy,” Alcaraz said. “Despite the tension, despite being the semifinals, being 7-6 in the thirdset tiebreaker … I’ve enjoyed it. Until the last point I was being able to smile.”

Alcaraz became the first player to beat Nadal and Djokovic at the same clay-court event. He converted his third match point in front of a raucous home crowd on the Caja Mágica center court.

“It’s a spectacular feeling right now,” Alcaraz said. “I’m very excited to be able to play these kind of matches, to be able to beat Rafa yesterday, to be able to beat the No. 1 today.”

A win Sunday would give Alcaraz his fourth title of 2022, the most of any player on the ATP Tour this season.

He will face reigning Madrid Open champion Alexander Zverev, who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The second-seeded German player converted three of his five break opportunities to clinch the victory in nearly two hours in match that ended after 1 a.m. local time.

Zverev is now 19-2 in Madrid, where he also won the title in 2018.

Alcaraz has lost both matches he has played against Zverev, all last year on hard courts.