The day before meeting for the first time in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open, a duel that points to an instant Spanish classic, Carlos Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal prepared their appointment on the training courts of the Caja Mágica.
They did it with different approaches. Rafa rallied around 11:30 with a 21-year-old Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, with a cut similar to that of the 17-year-old Murcian who turns 18 this Wednesday: of a similar height (1.83 for Alcaraz's 1.85) and also a good puncher. Carlos, for his part, shared court 14 from 12:30 with a top player like the one who comes next, the Russian Daniil Medvedev, number three in the world, whose game has little to do with that of the Balearic, if we except that he hits the backhand with two hands and that he has a lot of patience in long exchanges.
Everyone follows with expectation the preview of the match that will focus the spotlight on the Manolo Santana court, to be played in the third and last morning shift, not before 3:00 p.m.. Nadal has been training in a double session since he started training in Madrid last Friday, while Alcaraz only had one scheduled, at least officially.