Exciting? Hell of a draw in the Madrid Open as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz pitted in the same half

The Madrid Open 2022 draws have already been released as clay-court competitions continue to proceed. A diverse field of tennis talents will compete for the prestigious ATP title in Spain. Although a few young guns have a good chance of winning the Madrid Open this year, tennis fans want to watch veterans Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal battle head-to-head on a clay court once more. It seems that the wish might come true as Rafael Nadal could possibly face Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. However, Nadal may have to contend with a Carlos Alcaraz threat in the quarterfinals before that.

Rafael Nadal might face a potential Carlos Alcaraz threat in the quarter-final

Nadal confirmed his return to action at the Madrid Open earlier on Tuesday. The 21-time Grand Slam champion suffered a stress fracture in his rib earlier this year and hasn’t competed since losing in the final of the Indian Wells tournament to Taylor Fritz. 

However, being the third-seeded in this tournament, he will receive a bye in the first round and has a nightmarish draw ahead. He will need to fight against Miomir Kecmanovic or Alexander Bublik in the second round. Afterwards, he might face Pablo Carreno Busta in the third round to set up a potential quarter-final clash with the Young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. The duo faced each other in the semifinal of the Indian Wells Masters this year where the 35-year-old emerged as the winner. Nevertheless, fans will be very excited to see a potential quarterfinal match between them again as both can give each other a run for their money. 

Carlos Alcaraz, the 2022 Barcelona Open champion and one of the most talked-about players in the upcoming season, will also skip the first round because he is one of the top eight seeded players, and will face Fabio Fognini or Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round. After that, he must beat John Isner or Cameron Norrie in the third round to face Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal might lock horns with Djokovic in the semi-final clash

If Rafael Nadal overcomes the storm in form of Alcaraz in the Quarter-final, he might set up a potential semifinal match against Novak Djokovic in the Semi-final. The Serb has only competed in three events this year and has yet to win a championship in 2022. Djokovic just lost in the final of the Serbia Open to Andrey Rublev, but he will compete in the Madrid Open to get back on the track. 

Novak Djokovic will be the first-seeded at the 2022 Madrid Open and like all Top 8 seeded players at the tournament, he received a bye in the first round and will meet the winner of the match between Gael Monfils and Carlos Gimeno Valero in the second round. In the third round, he might face Denis Shapovalov and in the quarter-finals, he will need to overcome either Casper Ruud, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Hubert Hurkacz. Afterwards, if things go well he will be squaring off against Rafael Nadal in the semifinal. 

The last time both players were in the same draw was at Roland Garros in 2021, where they met in the semifinals. The Serb won in four sets and went on to win his 19th Grand Slam title by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. The pair had previously met in Rome when the 21-time Grand Slam champion defeated the World No. 1 in three sets in the final. However, Rafael Nadal has had a brilliant 2022 so far having won the Australian Open 2022 and many more ATP titles. Therefore, it will be exciting to see the duo facing each other again on the Spaniard’s home ground.

Also Read: “I can beat his Roland Garros record” Holger Rune aims to dethrone Rafael Nadal as ‘King of Clay

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW