Rare Masters champion congratulates Carlos Alcaraz on matching Madrid feat
Former world number three David Nalbandian has congratulated Carlos Alcaraz for matching his feat of defeating three of the world’s top four players on the way to a Masters 1000 title.
The 19-year-old Spaniard toppled his idol and world number four Rafael Nadal and world number one Novak Djokovic back-to-back before ousting defending Madrid champion and world number three Alexander Zverev in the final.
The Argentinian famously overcame Nadal, Djokovic and Federer consecutively at the 2007 Madrid Masters when they were ranked second, third and first in the world respectively.
Nalbandian tagged Alcaraz alongside a TennisTV tweet on the stat, saying: “Congratulations on the title Carlos Alcaraz!”
While of course Nalbandian defeated all of the top three in the Spanish capital in 2007, Alcaraz did not have that same opportunity in 2022 as world number two Daniil Medvedev was out of the event due to injury.
However, Alcaraz did break the record of the youngest man to win the Madrid Open at just 19 years and three days old.
While fans might have expected Alcaraz to continue storming through the clay at the Italian Open, the world number six actually withdrew ahead of the event.
He cited a fall suffered against Nadal in the quarter-finals of Madrid and how he needs time to let the subsequent inflammation heal ahead of Roland Garros.
There, the youngster will be looking to emulate his hero by winning the tournament at just 19 years of age, just a month older than Nadal was when he won his first Paris title in 2005.
¡Felicitaciones por el título! ??@alcarazcarlos03 https://t.co/umYwnf9qN3
— David Nalbandian (@nalbandiandavid) May 8, 2022
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