Rising star Alcaraz delights Real Madrid fans after winning against Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz is the new rising star of tennis. And according to many, a future world number one. After winning the semi-finals of the Madrid Open, he delighted Real Madrid football fans.

At just 19 years old, the tennis player is slowly beginning to amaze the world. And also taking over the scepter of Spanish tennis from Rafael Nadal, his great idol. Alcaraz, like Nadal and unlike other Spaniards, can play on all surfaces and is not just a clay court specialist. Although, of course, this surface suits him best.

At the current Madrid Open, he couldn’t have had a harder road to the final. In the quarter-finals he met the clay king Rafael Nadal, whom he overcame 6: 2, 1: 6 and 6: 3. Another parallel with the most successful tennis player in history is that Alcaraz is extremely strong mentally, which is very evident in tennis.

In the semi-final match, he knocked out world number one Novak Djokovic after 3 hours and 38 minutes (6: 7, 7: 5, 7: 6). He had to turn the match around after losing the first set, just like Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final, who were still trailing Manchester City 0: 1 in the 90th minute.

What’s the connection? Because Alcaraz is a big Real Madrid fan, even attending the championship celebrations last week.

Magic turnarounds

The famous turnovers at the Santiago Bernabéu have one common denominator. Juanito, the legendary Real Madrid footballer, started it all. He has been the face of iconic turnarounds at the Bernabéu in Europe over the last century, when he could spur his teammates on to incredible feats.

In the 1985/86 European Cup semi-final, Real lost 0-2 to Inter Milan. ” 90 minuti en el Bernabéu son molto longo,” which translates to “90 minutes at the Bernabéu is a very long time.”

And on Wednesday, when Real Madrid scored two goals in the 91st minute in the Champions League, it showed beautifully. Alcaraz sat in the Bernabéu stands and was so fascinated by Real’s turnaround that he emulated it with Djokovic on Friday.

“Un partido en Madrid es molto longo”, a slightly modified version of Juanito’s legendary line “The match in Madrid is very long.”

Source: Twitter, Madrid Open