"It'd be something magical, everyone wants that" - Carlos Alcaraz on potentially playing Rafael Nadal in Madrid Open 2024 final

Carlos Alcaraz recently shared his excitement at the prospect of facing Rafael Nadal in the final of the 2024 Madrid Masters.

Nadal will start his campaign at La Caja Magica against the USA's Darwin Blanch in a first-round fight on Thursday, April 25. In all likelihood, it will be his last showing at the Madrid Masters, a tournament he has won a record five times — in 2005, 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2017.

On the other hand, two-time defending champion Alcaraz is set to kick things off in the second round on Friday after having received a bye in the first. He will face the winner of the first-round battle between Alexander Shevchenko and Arthur Rinderknech.

The 20-year-old is, however, not yet confirmed to take the court because of injury woes. He conveyed the same to the media during a chat ahead of his inaugural matchup. Despite his presence not being confirmed, he entertained a question about a potential meeting with Rafael Nadal in the final in Madrid.

"We can imagine a lot of things, it would be something very big. Playing the final with Rafa here in Madrid, I'm not going to deny it, for everyone it would be something magical, everyone wants that match," Carlos Alcaraz said, as quoted by Punto de Break. (translated)

He vowed to put all his might to qualify for the final and expected Nadal to do the same. He said:

"Both he and I are going to fight every game, he wants to be in a final and even more so here in Madrid, I know he is excited. For my part, the same, I'm going to fight every game, I'll try to be at my 100%, be at a good level to qualify for that final."

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Carlos Alcaraz tied with Rafael Nadal in Madrid Masters head-to-head

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal have clashed on tour three times thus far, with the latter holding a slim lead of 2-1 in the head-to-head.

Two out of those three meetings have come at the Madrid Masters. The Spaniards met each other in the third round of the ATP 1000 event in 2021 when Nadal drew first blood by securing a 6-1, 6-2 win.

The veteran then inflicted another loss on Alcaraz when they came face-to-face in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open the following year. He defeated the youngster 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, only to lose to Taylor Fritz in the final.

Carlos Alcaraz registered his first success against the 22-time Grand Slam champion by defeating him in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters a few months later en route to a title-winning finish.

He bettered Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to tie his Madrid Masters-specific head-to-head with the latter at 1-1.