Carlos Alcaraz sets up Saudi showdown with Rafael Nadal
Nadal will retire from tennis after next month’s Davis Cup Finals.
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Carlos Alcaraz will try to enjoy facing “idol” Rafael Nadal for one last time at an exhibition tennis tournament in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Alcaraz is in Riyadh for the lucrative 6 Kings Slam, which is not an ATP-sanctioned event but has Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner involved.
Nadal and Djokovic were each given a bye through to the last four and Alcaraz set up a potentially emotional clash with his fellow Spaniard after a 6-4 6-2 win over Holger Rune in Wednesday’s second quarter-final.
Nadal announced on October 10 that he would retire from the sport after next month’s Davis Cup Finals in Spain, where he will team up with Alcaraz.
Alcaraz acknowledged he had mixed feelings about being able to take on Nadal, who was his doubles partner at the Olympic Games in Paris, for a place in the 6 Kings Slam final where a reported £4.6million is on offer for the winner of the exhibition event.
“Since I start to play tennis, I’m watching his matches. I look up to him and I grew up watching him. He was my idol, he is still my idol,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview.
“A really important person for my life, for my career and he was one of the reasons that I wanted to become a professional tennis player. Knowing he is going to retire is pretty tough for everyone, for me.
“I will try to enjoy sharing the court with him once again, but yeah I think it is really difficult for everyone.”
World number one Sinner is also through to the semi-finals where he will face Djokovic following a dominant 6-0 6-3 victory over familiar foe Daniil Medvedev, who has lost eight of his last nine matches to the Italian.