Rafael Nadal battled past Carlos Alcaraz and the elements on Saturday, beating his talented young Spanish compatriot 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to book an ATP Indian Wells Masters title clash with American Taylor Fritz.
Nadal, who claimed a record-setting 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, improved to 20-0 in 2022.
The 35-year-old superstar was pushed all the way through three hours and 12 minutes by the 18-year-old aiming to follow in the footsteps of his childhood idol.
“I think was my best match so far in the tournament in terms of level,” Nadal said.
“In the third I played with great determination against a very difficult player to play. He’s great. He has a lot of amazing things.”