Rafael Nadal’s semifinal with Alcaraz should have been the final at Indian Wells
“I tried my best during the last two weeks, today was not possible…” the iconic Rafael Nadal said during his short speech after losing to Taylor Fritz at the Indian Wells final. The Spaniard against the American was the apex of tennis.
Both were well spent on energy and belief coming into the ‘Desert’ final. But for Nadal, a loss is still time well spent on the hardcourt to start the season. The Indian Wells semifinal with an all-Spaniard matchup was the sensation and rave.
The prolific vs. the teen prodigy were ready to pair off a second time to see who could become the winner. Nadal had first time meetup with the teen at last year’s Madrid Open. The mature Spaniard showed his proof by a straight set 6-1, 6-2 win.
Here they were again pitted against each other at the Indian Wells semifinal. It was a smash, bang out match where both played at the top of their competitive tennis levels. Nadal was facing a more strategically sound Alcatraz than a year ago and he felt the difference tremendously.
“I was playing well at the beginning but it was just so difficult to stop him with his amazing shots,” Nadal shook his head explaining. The ‘King of Clay’ won the first set 6-4 but what led later was a brutal punishment.
The second set with Nadal and Alcaraz fighting not only each other but the wind gusts. Towels and cups, anything not tightened down blew around the court stadium. “The conditions became crazy,” Rafa laughed when explaining his on court situation.
He had 17 break chances but was only able to convert 3. Then there was a 20-minute 9th game in the mix causing more complexities to the match. “After that I can’t say I was in control,” Nadal admitted. He had lost the set 4-6 but the deciding one was a thriller with both not wanting to lose as they played high energy tennis.
Much drama and fluency in the last set had Nadal using his volleying skills to win points. Alcaraz followed back with rallying at a fast pace trying…
Source : tennisworldusa
