By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday March 20, 2022
In front of a packed and enthusiastic Stadium 1 crowd, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz battled each other and the elements on Saturday evening at Indian Wells. Wind was howling, sand blew in the face of both protagonists.
At times it was unclear who would come through. Both Nadal and Alcaraz flirted with taking control of the match. Both let grips slip as the other surged back.
Tennis was the winner, as it glimpsed its ultra-bright future and revelled in the supremacy of one of its greatest champions, all packaged neatly in one three-hour and 13-minute proving ground.
We witnessed jaw-dropping athleticism from both sides of the net. We witnessed frustration, and the strength that it takes to overcome it, as 40 MPH gusts of winds wreaked havoc.
When the match was over, Nadal palmed the back of Alcaraz’s head like a proud father, before joining the crowd in clapping the 18-year-old phenom off the court.
What a match! What a moment! What a future and present our sport has.
Nadal summed up his feelings about Alcaraz in his post-match press conference, doling out liberally the praise he doesn’t often volley in the direction of his competition. Not that Nadal isn’t always generous with his words, but in this case there was something almost familial.
“I don't have many doubts that he will be great,” Nadal said. “He is already, by the way,” he added with a grin.
Nadal has a point. Alcaraz’s mind-bending physicality is difficult to fathom. At 18 he already possesses the strength and power that players ten years his senior have sought – and never found.
Alcaraz is explosive, fast-twitching his way around the court, darting from corner to corner to stay in points that should have already ended. He’s powerful, and when he sets his feet he can drive winners off both wings with alarming regularity. And he's got feel. Alcaraz's arsenal is already replete with a lethal lob and a dangerous drop shot; he deploys each with clarity and vision.
Flip on your live streams, whip out your order of play. Then go watch Alcaraz play: everything about the teenage wunderkind is real deal.
All he lacks is experience, of which he got a helping heap on Saturday night, even in defeat – there are such things as good losses.
“I think it was a close match,” Alcaraz said on Saturday evening at Indian Wells. “I leave the tournament happy. I left the court happy with the level, with the performance. I mean, first time [we played, in 2021] he destroyed me. Now we played a third set. I [was much closer] against Rafa. I'm really happy.”
Just six months after his breakout at the US Open, where he became the youngest player to reach the last eight of the men’s singles draw in Open Era history, the Spaniard has already improved by leaps and bounds. Watching him compete with Nadal on Saturday, it was apparent that he has already left that version of himself in the dust.
What will Alcaraz look like in six months? How lethal will he be then? The tennis world can’t wait to find out.
The Spaniard himself has that look in his eyes, as if they are dancing with visions of winning the biggest titles in the sport.
“I'm more mature than last year,” Alcaraz said. “Now I know how to play against these kinds of players. I played a lot of matches against great players. Second time against Rafa. I feel like I'm at that level. I am part of these kinds of players. I think I'm going to play against Rafa or the best players this year a lot.
“As I said yesterday, this is going to be a different match than the first one. Now I think that I'm ready for the others.”