The world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz beat the lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the Madrid Open final on Sunday to defend last year’s title and win his fourth ATP Tour trophy of the year and his 10th overall.
Alcaraz, who had an injury-plagued start to the season, came back in top form last month to win the Barcelona Open for the second consecutive year. In Madrid, the 20-year-old Spaniard had to play his best tennis to beat a relentless Struff in three sets in a packed Caja Magica.
Alcaraz enjoyed a dream start to the match, breaking Struff’s serve in the first game. The German fought back to return the favour in the fourth but the Spaniard produced another break and closed the set 6-4.
Struff’s aggressive returns helped him to rush to a 3-0 lead in the second set, which he took 6-3, but Alcaraz woke up in the third, breaking to lead 3-1 and taking the set 6-3. The victory was the fourth ATP Masters 1000 trophy for Alcaraz, who became the youngest world No 1 last September when he won the US Open.
“For me it is so, so special,” he said. “To lift the trophy here in Madrid. In my country. It is always special to play and to be able to do a good result here and be a champion is so special. In front of my home crowd, my family, my friends. Everyone close to me. For me it is a special feeling that I will never forget.”
He added: “Once again it has been amazing. The crowd, my people, since the first day, were cheering my name. It is really amazing to have a lot of people behind you and supporting you and pushing you on.”
Alcaraz has now earned 21 consecutive wins at Spanish clay-court events but he had to work hard against the 33-year-old, who was the first lucky loser to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final since the series started in 1990 and was aiming to become just the fourth player to win his first tour-level trophy at an ATP Masters 1000.
Since a three-month injury layoff ruled him out of last year’s ATP Finals and the Australian Open this year, Alcaraz has compiled an incredible 28-2 (93%) record.
