Carlos Alcaraz and his 'hero' Rafael Nadal enjoyed Real Madrid's victory and the clinching of the club's 35th Spanish league title at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday.
Young tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz, who is set for the Madrid Open starting on Monday, joined 'hero' Rafael Nadal at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Saturday, where the duo witnessed Real Madrid clinch its record-extending 35th La Liga title with a 4-0 win over Espanyol.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion performed the honourary kick-off of the clash. Rodrygo's double put Real Madrid 2-0 up at the break before Marco Asensio added a third after 55 minutes, and La Liga top scorer Karim Benzema sealed the points in the 81st.
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The win also made their Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti the first manager to capture titles in Europe's top five leagues — England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France. "We were very consistent throughout the season. We faltered in very few matches," coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
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Captain Benzema lifted the trophy after coming off the bench late in the second half as Ancelotti rested several regular starters with Real Madrid hosting Manchester City in their Champions League semi-final second leg on Wednesday, trailing 4-3.
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Image Credit: Carlos Alcaraz Instagram
An elated Alcaraz took to Instagram to share photos of the celebrations following the title-winning game. 'Hala Madrid,' wrote the Barcelona Open champion.
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Image Credit: Carlos Alcaraz Instagram
From Luca Modric to Vinicius Jr., the 18-year-old posted pictures of himself with the trophy and some of the Real Madrid stars.
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Image Credit: Carlos Alcaraz Instagram
Among those photos was one with his 'hero' Rafael Nadal, who Alcaraz could face at the quarter-finals of the upcoming Madrid Open.
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Image Credit: Carlos Alcaraz Instagram
The two tennis stars, both big fans of Real Madrid, watched the match in the box at the stadium and the subsequent celebrations on the pitch.
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Image Credit: Rafael Nadal Instagram
Meanwhile, taking to Instagram, Nadal expressed his gratitude to Real Madrid for inviting him to take the honourary kick-off and thanked fans at the stadium for the welcome.
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"Very grateful to @realmadrid for inviting me to take the honorary kick-off at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Quite an honor. Thanks to the Madrid fans for the welcome. Impressive atmosphere. Congratulations to the team for the league title," the Spaniard wrote.
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After its win over Espanyol, Real Madrid is 17 points ahead of Sevilla, 18 points in front of Barcelona and 20 points ahead of Atlético. This is the Los Blancos' third Spanish league title in the last six seasons, one more than Barcelona and two more than Atlético in that period. Before that, Barcelona had won six titles in eight seasons, with Real Madrid one and Atlético another.
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As for Nadal, after featuring in this year's Madrid Open, the 35-year-old will head to the Italian Open in Rome, where he is the defending champion, before reclaiming the trophy at Roland Garros and winning the 14th title.
