Carlos Alcaraz continued his impressive rise by shaking off injury to beat Rafael Nadal and set up a Madrid Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic. The 19-year-old Spaniard produced some superb hitting to defeat five-time champion Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to become the youngest semi-finalist in Madrid history.

Alcaraz was struggling to move after falling and injuring his right ankle in the second set but managed to regroup to close out a stunning win. Earlier, world No.1 Novak eased past Hubert Hurkacz with a routine 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Alcaraz has often been compared to Nadal during his meteoric rise, which has seen him win the Miami Open and break into the top 10 of the world rankings. However, this is the first time in three meetings that Alcaraz has beaten the 21-time grand slam champion.

Alcaraz produced a blistering first-set performance. Then, after saving three break points early in the second set Alcaraz fell heavily while sliding for a forehand and received a medical time out to get the injury taped up.

He left the court at the end of the second set and then returned with more of his form from the first set.

(Written with inputs from Reuters)