It was 25th April 2005. Riding on to his Barcelona Open title, Rafael Nadal broke into the top-10 of the ATP rankings. He defeated his compatriot, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in the summit clash to clinch the maiden Barcelona Open title. Further, in a pure coincidence, rising Spanish star, Carlos Alcaraz, is set to make his debut in the top-10 of the ATP rankings, next week. It will be exactly 17 years since Nadal had achieved the same feat.

Alcaraz is in his native country to participate at the Barcelona Open. Earlier today, he defeated the top seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Last year, he suffered a first-round exit at the Barcelona Open. As a result, Alcaraz will gain enough ranking points to enter the top-10 for the first time ever in his nascent career. Nadal was 18 years and 10 months old when he achieved the feat of breaking into the top-10 rankings. Alcaraz will just be a month older than Nadal while achieving the same feat.

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The Spanish teen sensation is having a breakthrough 2022 season. After a third-round exit at the Australian Open, Alcaraz won the Rio Open title, his maiden ATP 500 title. Subsequently, he had a brilliant run at the ‘Sunshine Double’. The 18-year-old reached the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, before losing to Rafael Nadal in a three-set thriller. Further, he won his biggest title to date, when he defeated Casper Ruud in the finals to lift his maiden Masters 1000 crown in Miami.

Carlos Alcaraz digs deep at the Barcelona Open

Alcaraz entered the Barcelona Open on the back of a disappointing campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters. He stumbled in the second round of the tournament in Monaco, losing to Sebastian Korda in three sets. However, putting his disappointments behind him, Alcaraz has bounced back and finds himself in the semifinals this week in Barcelona.

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He recorded thumping victories against Soonwoo Kwon, Jaume Munar, and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the semifinals. He will take on Alex de Minaur for a place in the finals. It’ll be an interesting battle between the two youngsters.