Carlos Alcaraz of Spain won the Madrid Open on Sunday, defeating German Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-3, 6-1 in 62 minutes. With the triumph, the 19-year-old extended his winning run to ten games.
Alcaraz reached the final after defeating Rafael Nadal, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, a first in a clay court competition, and will rise to No. 6 on Monday. “This event is meaningful to me since it is one that I came to see when I was seven or eight years old,” Alcaraz said.
The German second seed was impressed.
“You are now the top player on the planet. You are still defeating us all, even if you are only five years old, ” said Alcaraz after the court match.
Alcaraz broke in the sixth game and maintained his serve easily to win the opening set.
The German second seed had a nine-match winning run in Madrid going into the final, but he crumbled after holding in the second set’s opening game.
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Zverev saved three match points but double-faulted on deuce and again on the fourth match point as Alcaraz swept through the next five games to take an 0-40 lead.
The German saved three points before serving his seventh double fault of the match, allowing Alcaraz to win.
“This is tennis,” Zverev stated. “It’s impossible to be flawless every day.”
“Even if I lost horribly today, this is still my favorite court in the world,” Zverev, a winner in Madrid in 2018 and 2021, said.
