The first time that Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz faced off in a competitive match turned out to be an exciting, three-set, three-hour match on the clay courts of the Madrid Masters in 2022. Here’s what transpired in that face-off.
Alcaraz had already started making waves but Djokovic – and Rafael Nadal – were the players to beat on clay. This is what happened when Alcaraz met Djokovic in that semifinal at the 2022 Madrid Masters semifinal.
A Three-and-a-Half Hour Thriller in Madrid
Everyone expected their first meeting to be a thrilling matchup and it lived up to the hype.
Djokovic was the top seed in the tournament taking on the seventh seed local favourite and it began with Alcaraz breaking the Serb in the very first game of the match.
Djokovic pulled the break back to draw level at 4-4 and then he missed out on a set point opportunity at 4-5 (30-40).
The senior pro, however, built a sizable 6-2 lead in the tiebreak, but given the fighter that Alcaraz is, he won three points in a row to make things interesting. Djokovic checked the Spaniard’s surge by serving out the set on the next point. He was mighty relieved and all charged up having waded through a tough opener.
With momentum shifting towards the Serb, Alcaraz had his task cut out but he was ready to give his all to stay in the contest. The determined Spaniard denied Djokovic three opportunities to break his serve.
The Serb had taken a 15-40 lead on Alcaraz’s serve in the ninth game, and had advantage in the 11th game, but he couldn’t take any of those chances. Eventually, it was Alcaraz who broke Djokovic in the final game to force the decider.
Although neither player could break in the final set, Alcaraz was the one dominating the set. But despite holding six break points, including a match point at 4-5 (30-40), the Spaniard couldn’t break as Djokovic was equal to his task on all six occasions.
It was only fitting for the match to be decided in a final-set tiebreak and twice Djokovic came back from a minibreak down to stay in the match, but a third minibreak for Alcaraz proved to be decisive, who closed out the three-hour-and-36-minute contest 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).
Watch the highlights of the match below:
Alcaraz was aggressive throughout the match, mixing up some powerful stroke-making with breathtaking drop shots. He struck 51 winners to Djokovic’s 29 in the match.
Djokovic served well in the first set, dropping just six points on his serve in the set. But as the match progressed Alcaraz started returning well and he won 41% return points (15 of 37) in the second set and 39% (23 of 59) in the third.
Alcaraz also accumulated a lot of net points in the match wining 18 points on his 23 trips to the net.
The win was even more special for the Spaniard as he became the first became the first man to defeat Nadal and Djokovic in the same clay court tournament. Alcaraz had beaten the former in three sets in the quarterfinal.
What Happened Next?
Alcaraz, who had just turned 19, capped off the week by defeating the defending champion Alexander Zverev in the Madrid Open final.
Having battled past the two legends in the previous rounds, Alcaraz dominated the final to hand the German a 6-3, 6-1 defeat and lift his first Madrid Open title. It was Alcaraz’s fifth ATP title from five finals and a second Masters 1000 triumph following his Miami Open success earlier in 2022.
He would go on to clinch the US Open title that year as well while Djokovic would win the 2022 Wimbledon.
And who would win the French Open? Only one guy, Rafael Nadal.