In supreme generational battle, Rafael Nadal's youthful energy helps see him past Carlos Alcaraz, and into the Indian Wells final

MATCH POINT: Nadal survives Alcaraz

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Past the three-hour mark of his BNP Paribas Open semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal did precisely what he’s been trained to do his entire life: pay attention. Alcaraz was serving in the third set at 3-4, 30-40. An Alcaraz groundstroke landed short to Nadal’s forehand. In sprinted Nadal to lace it down the line. Nadal continued forward to cut off an Alcaraz forehand passing shot. Down the line it came, at which point Nadal conclusively cracked a forehand volley to break serve for 5-3. Four points later, Nadal had won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, and reached the finals here for the fifth time.

The Big Three each have their own way of winning. Roger Federer curates, his victories yet another masterpiece in a softly lit museum. Novak Djokovic dissects with the clinical precision of a surgeon. Art and medicine create a distance. Come away from a match with Nadal and you will participate in the intimacy of competition. Nadal’s inquiry comes not just from the head, but from the heart: What have you got? Dig deep or die.

Alcaraz brought plenty. So what if Alcaraz, 18, was nearly half Nadal’s age? So what if in their only previous meeting, last spring in Madrid, Alcaraz had won only three games? That was then. This was now.

“I think last year were a lot of first times for me,” said Alcaraz. “I mean, first win in a Grand Slam, first Masters 1000. A lot of first times. Now I played more matches against Top 10 players, big matches in big stadiums. I think now I'm more mature. I know how to control myself, the emotions. Now I know is my level, know how to play against these kind of players.”

Having once been tennis’ preeminent precocious contender, Nadal well understood Alcaraz’s current state of mind.

“When you are young,” said Nadal, “when you are living new experiences for the first time, everything is new. You are playing in stadiums, against opponents, in tournaments that just one, two years ago you were only watching these events on TV. I think you're excited. You have the passion.”

Alcaraz hadn’t arrived at this semifinal to merely field questions. He wanted to ask them. Sky-high energy helped the young Spaniard take the first two games. Not once did Alcaraz’s enthusiasm and interest flag. After Nadal rallied to go ahead 4-2 in the first set, Alcaraz caught up to 4-all. Even down 4-5, love-40, Alcaraz scratched back to deuce, his comeback aided by a sublime forehand drop shot and a crisp stabbed backhand volley. Not until set point number five did Nadal close out the 66-minute first set.

The second set brought another factor—extremely windy conditions, which in the desert also triggered a sandstorm. Describing what the environment as “almost unplayable,” Nadal noted that “the problem in tennis is we don't have a ruling for that. There is no ruling for wind. There is no ruling saying after X miles an hour we should suspend the match. I tell you one thing, I enjoy a lot of times playing with wind because for me it's a challenge. It's like playing golf with a lot of wind. I mean, we going to have mistakes. The level will not be that high. But it's about try to find solutions all the time.”

Two days ago, Nadal’s jousting partner was Nick Kyrgios, the skilled striker who comforts himself in the cocoon of emotional volatility. Alcaraz had none of that. Through whistling winds, intrusive dust, napkins and papers floating from the stands, versus as tough a competitor as tennis has ever seen, Alcaraz was both poised and precise.

With Nadal serving at 4-all in the second set, the two played a seven-deuce game, won at last by Alcaraz with two superb sequences—a drop shot-lob combination at deuce, followed by an untouchable topspin lob. Question, answer, question, answer. That Alcaraz was 18 and Nadal 35 meant nothing by this point. As the saying goes, the ball doesn’t know how old you are. Said Nadal, “I think he has all the shots.”

Continually queried by both Alcaraz and the wind, Nadal in the third set upped his attack, with both more power off the ground and increased trips to the net. Often when Nadal rushes the net, his approach shots are so forceful that the closing volley is deftly placed just inside the service line. But versus Alcaraz—arguably as fast as anyone in contemporary tennis—Nadal needed to crack volleys hard, deep, angled. Several times in a rally, he had to hit more than one.

“I played aggressive,” said Nadal. “Determinated to do what I needed to do to win the match.”

It was a thrilling sight, this deeply felt battle between old master and young star. Said Nadal, now 20-0 in 2022, “I think was my best match so far in the tournament in terms of level.”

How remarkable how Nadal’s ability to perpetually approach his tennis with youthful energy has given him a career of extraordinary longevity.