NO ESCAPE FROM ALCARAZ

RAFAEL NADAL was given a glimpse of the present and future yesterday when he was roundly beaten by his heir apparent. A day after turning 19, Carlos Alcaraz became the first teenager to beat the Spanish legend when he reached the semi-finals of the Madrid Open with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory. He will face a resurgent Novak Djokovic today. World No 9 Alcaraz is clear third favourite for the French Open and already has a Masters title under his belt this year after winning the Miami Open last month. Nadal is still not at his best after a lay-off with a rib fracture, but it is easy to see why Alcaraz is seen as the coming superstar in the men’s game. He shrugged off turning his ankle during the match and was nerveless when serving it out. His dropshot already looks like one of the great strokes of the sport. Djokovic came through earlier with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. Andy Murray has abandoned plans to try to qualify for next week’s Italian Open but has not given up on his last-minute

clay-court campaign. The Scot did not travel to Rome after pulling out of his third-round match in Madrid against Djokovic with gastric problems, but he is contemplating trying to play at the ATP event in Geneva between Rome and Roland Garros.