Watch: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz's incredible rally during a practice session ahead of Indian Wells
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will face each other in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters on Saturday. Ahead of their clash, a video of one of their practice sessions together at the Masters 1000 event was shared by Tennis TV on Twitter.
In the video, Nadal was seen serving from the far end of the court. The two Spaniards traded some magnificent groundstrokes before a crosscourt backhand from Nadal pulled Alcaraz well outside the tramlines.
But the 18-year-old showcased marvelous athleticism to not only get to the ball, but also come up with a powerful forehand winner. The crowd expectedly broke into applause.
Unreal athleticism and hitting incoming 🥵
Nadal and Alcaraz produced *this* on the #IndianWells practice court before the tournament...
(via @NateWalroth @tennis_point_US) https://t.co/HFDnpdeDqS
Nice crowd to watch Nadal and Alcaraz practice at #IndianWells 🔥 https://t.co/XOjVj4usfY
Their encounter on Saturday is expected to feature plenty of similarly exciting rallies.
Both Spaniards have been in fine form this season. Nadal has a perfect 19-0 record in 2022, while Alcaraz is on a 10-match winning streak.
Saturday's match will be the first-ever all-Spanish semifinal in Indian Wells. It will also be the first all-Spanish semifinal at a Masters 1000 tournament since Nadal faced Roberto Bautista Agut in Madrid in 2014.
Rafael Nadal beat Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid last year
This will be the second meeting between Nadal and Alcaraz. The two previously faced off in the second round of last year's Madrid Masters, with Nadal cruising to a straight-sets win.
Alcaraz has improved significantly since then and is expected to give Nadal a much tougher fight this time around.
Ahead of the match, Nadal hailed Alcaraz as an "unstoppable" talent.
"I think he's unstoppable in terms of his career," Nadal said. "He has all the ingredients. He has the passion. He has the, he's humble enough to work hard. No, he's a good guy. He remembers me a lot of things than when I was 17- or 18-years-old kid. I think he has the passion. He has the talent and the physical component, which is great."
The King of Clay also tipped the 18-year-old to fight for many big titles in the future.
"And I am super happy, even, of course it's going to be a great rival for now and for the next couple of months, without a doubt. But thinking and being selfish, it's great, honestly, to have such a star from my country, because we, for the tennis lovers, we're going to keep enjoy an amazing player fighting for the most important titles for the next, I don't know how many years, a lot of years," he added.