Nadal chose his choice to win the Madrid Masters, but not Novak Djokovic

Recently, Nadal revealed his favorite player to win this year's Madrid Masters. Top players such as Alcaraz, Djokovic and Zverev will all compete in the ATP1000-level event.

Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic recently reunited at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, drawing a lot of attention. Now, Alcaraz and Djokovic's attention has turned to the Madrid Masters. Acre will be aiming to win his seventh Masters title, while the legend with 24 Grand Slam trophies will be aiming for his fourth Madrid title and his 100th career title.

Despite Djokovic's success at the tournament, Nadal handed the title of 'favourite' to two-time Madrid champion Alcaraz. During the Laureus Awards ceremony, the 38-year-old tennis legend expressed his opinion that Alcaraz will always be the most competitive player as long as he is healthy and online. "If Carlos is in good form, I think he'll always be the favourite," he said. ”

Despite the 22-time Grand Slam champion's trust in Alcaraz, there are doubts about his ability to perform at his best in Madrid, following a worrying injury to Rune in the final of the Barcelona Open. In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz revealed that Nadal had sent him messages of encouragement, expressing his hope that he would be well injured and able to return to training as soon as possible.

Alcaraz said: "He sent me messages and encouraged me and hoped that I would not be injured and that I would be able to return to training in a few days and give it my all. At the moment, Alcaraz has not undergone an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, but at the Laureus Awards Ceremony, he brought positive news that he did not think the injury was serious.

Alcaraz had just won his first career title at the Monte Carlo Masters, and then went on to play in the Barcelona Open. After the final defeat, he spoke about the challenges that the short adjustment period brought to him. He admits that the difficult experience has made him admire Nadal even more, and praises the 22-time Grand Slam champion's ability to win week after week on clay.

"That's the reality when you're racing all the time you go on and you have a short break. Every day you have to be 100 percent in shape, which is very physical and energy-intensive. Rushing to Barcelona from Monte Carlo and having almost no time to adapt to it was really difficult. Now I have a lot of respect for Rafa [Nadal] because he can do this week after week, and that's so respectable. Alcaraz said at a press conference.

Alcaraz has a bye in the first round of the Madrid Masters 2025 and will face the winner between Berges and Kei Nishikori in the second round. Djokovic, meanwhile, will face either Analdi or one of the qualifiers in the second round.

With the pair in the same half, Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are expected to stage a blockbuster semi-final clash in this ATP1000 event.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)