Alcaraz continues magical run in Madrid
Spanish teen conquers world No. 1 Djokovic a day after beating countryman Nadal on clay court
A magical season for teenager Carlos Alcaraz continued Saturday as he defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open.
The 19-year-old Spaniard toppled another legend, Rafael Nadal, on Friday in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals of the Masters 1000 event against the topseeded Djokovic.
He will meet Alexander Zverev of Germany, the second seed, in today's final. Zverev defeated fourthseeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the other semi.
Alcaraz, the seventh seed, needed three hours, 35 minutes to beat Djokovic of Serbia.
“I don't know what the difference was,” Alcaraz said. “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 tiebreak. Honestly I don't know what made the difference.”
Alcaraz, with the wins over Nadal and Djokovic, now has six straight victories over opponents ranked in the top 10. He won his first Masters 1000 title in Miami and has three wins this season.
Saturday's match was his first meeting against Djokovic. He had 51 winners compared
I think I am able to play against the best players in the world and beat them, so it gives me a lot of confidence.” Carlos Alcaraz
to 24 for Djokovic.
“This gives me a lot of confidence to play the final tomorrow,” Alcaraz said of the win. “I know that I played a really good game, and for the rest of the season I think I am able to play against the best players in the world and beat them as well, so it gives me a lot of confidence.”
Alcaraz rose to 27-3 on the season and became the first player to defeat Nadal and Djokovic at the same event on clay courts.
JABEUR CLAIMS FIRST WTA TITLE
Tunisian Ons Jabeur sealed her first WTA 1000 title after defeating American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 0-6, 6-2 in an entertaining Madrid Open final Saturday.
Jabeur had been in scintillating form at the clay-court tournament and the 27-yearold produced a determined display against Pegula.
Jabeur had a slow start, being down 1-4 in the opener, but took advantage of a handful of loose baseline errors from Pegula to make it 4-4.
The first Arab player to crack the top 10 of the world rankings, Jabeur showed flair and fighting spirit as she saved a set point at 4-5 before closing out the set on her serve.
The Tunisian, however, lost her grip in the second set where she was handed a bagel by Pegula, who recovered remarkably and looked unstoppable.
The decider saw world No. 10 Jabeur at her aggressive best, the Tunisian fighting through a long deuce game and breaking on her first chance to earn a double-break lead and chance to serve out the win.
Jabeur fell to her knees after completing the biggest win of her career, becoming the first African player to win a WTA 1000 title.