Tennis: after Nadal, Alcaraz defeats Djokovic in Madrid

Is Carlos Alcaraz now the favorite for the Roland-Garros tournament which begins in two weeks?

We can reasonably think so.

Twenty-four hours after his success in the quarter-finals at the expense of King Rafael Nadal (13 Roland-Garros), the young 19-year-old Spaniard offered himself the scalp of world number one Novak Djokovic this Saturday in half -final of the Madrid Master Series.

This is the first time that a player has managed to beat Nadal and Djokovic in the same tournament on clay.

After a long fight of 3 hours and 35 minutes of play, he won at the end of the suspense (6-7, 7-5, 7-6).

Alcaraz was able to brilliantly erase a break point in the last set before making the difference in the tie-break on his second match point.

By his precocity and his talent on ocher, the 9th player in the world recalls a certain Nadal, 17 years his senior, whom he therefore beat on Friday in the quarter-finals.

Alcaraz will play the final of the tournament - his first in the Master Series - this Sunday against the German Alexander Zverev or the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

This Monday, he will be, at best, 6th in the world in the ATP ranking.

For his part, even if he is obviously disappointed by his defeat, the Serbian Novak Djokovic reassured himself during this tournament in Madrid after being a finalist at the Belgrade tournament two weeks ago.

His first-round defeat in Monte Carlo last month seems a long way off.

The world number one finds the form at the right time, two weeks before Roland Garros, of which he is the defending champion.