The mural was painted by renowned artist TVBOY.

TVBOY, a popular mural artist from Vienna, was recently in Madrid where he painted a mural of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz during the Madrid Open. The mural seemed to have taken inspiration from the interaction between the two players after their match in Madrid in 2022, where Alcaraz got one of the most memorable wins of his career.

However, less than two days after it was posted on the artist’s social media handles, the mural has been completely vandalized by some unknown individuals. The before and after photos of the incident are shocking and leave a bad taste in the mouths of artists and tennis enthusiasts alike. Netizens took to social media to blame the incident on fans of Novak Djokovic.

The beautiful painting of the two players, although inspired by a real moment they had, was not lacking in the artist’s touch whatsoever. TVBOY painted a crown into Rafael Nadal‘s hand which is seen to be wrapping around the youngster, as if to highlight the passing of the torch between generations.

It could have also meant that despite Alcaraz getting the better of him, Nadal remains the crowned King of Clay. However one may have interpreted it, it is truly sad that the mural is no longer recognizable.

“Djokovic’s fan certainly” a frustrated fan responded to a post showing the damage done to the mural. some even tagged specific superfans of the Serb on this post, asking if they were in Madrid recently. Many others followed suit and have asked for the culprits to be brought to justice. Here are some of the reactions:

Carlos Alcaraz’s streak in Madrid broken

The youngster from Spain, Carlos Alcaraz, first lived up to the hype in the 2022 Madrid Open where he became the first player ever to defeat Nadal and Djokovic in consecutive matches on clay and also won the title as a result. This was a pivotal win which took him to the top of the rankings ladder later that year.

Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X)
In 2023, he was as fierce as the last time, dropping just two sets en route to the title. This year, by reaching the quarterfinal, he matched Rafa Nadal’s streak of 14 consecutive wins at the tournament between 2012 and 2015.

The streak was broken yesterday by Andrey Rublev in an unbelievably intense three-set match, which means Alcaraz is now tied with Nadal for the record of most consecutive match wins at the Madrid Open. A feat he would undoubtedly be proud of.