Carlos Alcaraz arrived in Madrid last May still with plenty to prove. The swiftness with which he joined the elite had already become one of the defining stories of the season, but Alcaraz had still not faced the ultimate test, measuring up against Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.
By the end of the week, he had ticked both off the list. Alcaraz finished the Madrid Open by becoming the first player to beat Nadal and Djokovic consecutively on clay and he departed with the title.
