Indian Wells, March 20 (BNA): Rafael Nadal faced the future and came out victorious, defeating Spanish youngster Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Saturday evening to reach the BNP Paribas Open final and advance to 20-0 this year.
The 21-time main champ threw his head back, smiled and raised his arms in triumph after escaping the aggressive Alcaraz, the Associated Press reported.
The 18-year-old didn’t appear to be upset playing his ostentatious, crowd-pleaser compatriot, with 17 years of age and plenty of experience to his credit.
“He has all the ingredients to be a great champion,” Nadal said. “I don’t have many doubts that it would be cool. By the way, it really is.”
Nadal’s perfect record is his third best start to a season since 1990. He has won titles in Melbourne, the Australian Open, and Acapulco.
Nadal will meet Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s final match. Seeded 20, Fritz is the first American man to reach the final since John Isner in 2012 and will try to be the first to win the title since Andre Agassi in 2001.
Fritz ended the winning streak of No. 7 Andrei Rublev in 13 consecutive matches with a 7-5, 6-4 victory in the other semi-final. The Russian has won 13 consecutive matches since February 14, including back-to-back titles in Marseille and Dubai.
Nadal got rid of three break points in the fifth game of the third set and then broke Alcaraz with a forehand break to lead 5-3. Nadal served the match with a game of love, punctuated by a 3 hour 12 minute struggle with an ace hit of 95 mph.
“Rafa has thousands of lives,” said Alcaraz. “If he falters, he is able to play at a great level in difficult moments.”
The coaches have 39 winners against Nadal’s 20. The teenager saved 15 of the 20 break points he faced during the first two sets, but was unable to stop the fast netting Nadal who broke it to go up 4-3.
That’s when Nadal asked for a coach, who seemed to give the 36-year-old star an adjustment. Nadal said he was feeling pain in his left chest.
Ranked 19th in the world, Alcaraz outperformed Nadal in a second set that included five service breaks, including four in a row.
4-All tied, and Alcaraz broke Nadal in a match that lasted 19 minutes and 42 seconds. An errant forehand by Nadal Alcaraz gave the advantage in the seventh game of the match. The teen threw a quick lob so close to the baseline that Nadal couldn’t catch up and Alcaraz led 5-4. Served the group, 6-4.
“If you play with Rafa, you have to be calm, you have to think carefully about the difficult moments,” Alcaraz said. “That’s what I learned in this match.”
Alcaraz caught Nadal’s attention from the start, breaking him in the first half of the match. The youngster survived a six-serve match to lead 2-0. Alcaraz was brave the whole time, hitting the net on break points and often coming up with winners.
“I feel part of this level. I am part of that kind of player,” Alcaraz said. “I think I will play a lot against Rafa or the best players this year.”
As the match went on, the winds grew so strong that it blew the players’ white towels close to the field and shook Nadal’s drink bottles which he placed facing the field. Ball kids chased things that weren’t fixed. Nadal said his eyes hurt from the sand that was stirred up by the wind.
In the first semi-final, Fritz came out strong in front of a supporting crowd at the tournament as he had been coming since he was a kid from his home near San Diego. He served a love game to open the match and then immediately broke Rublev and held it again to lead 3-0.
“I wasn’t the favorite in today’s match so I was able to play more freely,” said Fritz, who reached the semi-finals here five months ago when the event took place in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was all flowing for me for sure.”
Fritz held in love 4-1 climb. He had a chance to serve the first set with a 5-2 lead, but Rublev won the next three games to tie it, 5-all.
The Fritz advances 6-5 with an ace of 112 MPH. Rublev broke big hits after a seven-stroke game to win the set.
The Russian reacted by hitting a ball in the sky and repeatedly hitting the strings of his racket with his right fist. Rublev needed a medical reprieve before starting the second set to tend to a bloodied hand. He later said he injured his hand “a little.”
In the second set, Fritz had a big hold at 5-4, shooting an ace on the T after battling two break points. The men remained in their service until the tenth inning.
Rublev saved eight of his 11 break points, but missed an easy forehand over the net to give Fritz the first game point. Fritz criticized Rublev’s return to take the pivotal break and match.
“I felt so relieved and couldn’t believe it,” Fritz said. “Those moments are the reason why I wanted to become an athlete, and I wanted to play tennis professionally. It is the best part of it all.”