Nadal battles past Alcaraz in semis, to face Fritz in final of BNP Paribas Open

By Ricky Dimon

Regardless of what is thrown at him, Rafael Nadal just refuses to lose right now.

Unsurprisingly, Carlos Alcaraz put his fellow Spaniard through the wringer on semifinal Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open. Ridiculous wind gusts and a late injury scare also could have derailed Nadal for the first time this season.

Instead, the 21-time Grand Slam champion remained undefeated in 2022 by improving to 20-0 with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory. It was a wildly entertaining affair that required three hours and 12 minutes to be completed.

Showing no signs of nerves out of the gates with his idol on the other side of the net, Alcaraz pocketed a quick 2-0 lead in the opening set. However, Nadal promptly reeled off four consecutive games to take control. After the world No. 4 closed out that set, the wind picked up in set two–and so did Alcaraz’s game. The 18-year-old broke serve three times in a row, the last instance coming in a marathon seven-deuce game that featured a total of seven break points as Nadal toed the line at 4-4. Alcaraz served things out with little trouble one game later.

That set the stage for a winner-take-all third, in which the quality of tennis only got better as the wind died down. A key turning point came with Nadal serving at 2-2, when he fought off three more break points and managed to hold with some flawless net play. Continuing to inch ahead in the set each time he served, the 35-year-old champion eventually broke Alcaraz at 4-3. That allowed him to serve for the match, which he did successfully at love.

“I think he started playing amazing; it was so difficult to stop him,” Nadal said of his compatriot. “In the second the conditions became crazy; it was so difficult, everything. In the third I think I played much better; I tried to be more aggressive. I am super happy to be in the final; it means a lot to me.”

Alcaraz was also thoroughly deserving of a final spot, and it took the tour’s current best player to deny him. But it was another great learning experience for the teenager.

“The atmosphere was amazing,” Alcaraz commented. “In the third set we played really good tennis, I think both (of us). In the first set I had to be more calm; I played really nervous. But, yeah, I (will) learn from this. The next time I will play more calm, more [relaxed]. If you are playing with Rafa, you have to be calm — you have to think well in the tough moments. That’s what I learned in this match.”

Will Nadal be able to get past another one of the game’s brightest rising stars on Sunday? His final opponent is California native Taylor Fritz, who beat Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-4 in the first semifinal.

Ricky contributes to10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.