Madrid Open director not worried about fans losing interest post Rafael Nadal era as ‘charismatic’ Carlos Alcaraz is attracting audience
World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz is the winner of two Madrid Open titles, while Rafael Nadal retired after lifting five of them.
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Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)
Now that Rafael Nadal has retired, Madrid Open director Feliciano Lopez is convinced that the tournament won’t lose its popularity all thanks to Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal has won a record five titles in the tournament.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, is the winner of two Madrid Open titles he lifted by beating Alexander Zverev in 2022 and Jan-Lennard Struff in 2023. Last year, however, he was defeated in the quarterfinals by eventual winner Andrey Rublev.
The qualifying rounds of the Madrid Open are underway and the main draw is scheduled to start on April 23. Lopez said data shows young people do not watch tennis much, but he believes Alcaraz’s personality can attract a lot of young fans.
Rafa steps aside and Carlitos appears, a completely different player, with a different style, with a different personality, but who also generates enormous interest, a very charismatic guy on the court, who smiles and loves what he does, who generates and attracts a very different audience.
Feliciano Lopez told Relevo
Nadal called time on his career at the Davis Cup last year after Spain lost the quarterfinal tie to the Netherlands. The 22-time Grand Slam champion played one singles match, losing it to Botic van de Zandschulp.
Holger Rune reveals how he was successful in beating Carlos Alcaraz
The Barcelona Open concluded on Sunday (April 20). Carlos Alcaraz entered the tournament to chase his second clay-court title of the season following his victory at the Monte Carlo Masters. He was also bidding to win his third title of the season as he also took home the Rotterdam Open.
Alcaraz, however, fell short of the title. Holger Rune, who was chasing his first title since winning the 2023 BMW Open, prevailed over him with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory and took home his third title on the red dirt after two BMW Open he lifted in 2022 and 2023. Following the match, the Dane revealed how Novak Djokovic helped him come out on top of the four-time Grand Slam champion.
So, I told myself, ‘Okay, what did Novak do when he beats him?’ And I kind of played it in my mind: the Olympic final. I was watching it, all of it when they played. Honestly, an amazing match.
Holger Rune said during his on-court interview
Djokovic, in the Paris Olympics final, played two tie-breaks against Alcaraz to win his first gold medal. Alcaraz also lost the match he played against the 24-time Grand Slam champion in this year’s Australian Open quarterfinal.
Holger Rune improves his head-to-head record against Carlos Alcaraz
Holger Rune how holds a 2-2 head-to-head record over Carlos Alcaraz. It was the first singles final played between two 21-year-olds since 2022.
Before the Barcelona Open, they never played each other on clay. Had Alcaraz won the title, he would have become a three-time Barcelona Open champion as he lifted the title in the Spanish city in 2022 and 2023.
Both Zverev and Alcaraz won’t be able to dethrone Jannik Sinner from the top of the rankings table. Sinner, who lost 200 points (reached the quarterfinals last year) because of not participating in the Madrid Open, has 9,730 in the live rankings. Zverev and Alcaraz have 7,995 and 7,850, respectively. Sinner’s return at the Italian Open will only make things difficult for Alcaraz and Zverev to climb to the No.1 spot.
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