Carlos Alcaraz claimed the second Masters 1000 title at home in Madrid three days after turning 19! An extraordinary teenager defeated Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in 62 minutes in the title clash to become the youngest multiple Masters 1000 winner since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Zverev played the previous two matches late at night and went to bed before 4 and 5 am. A two-time Madrid Masters champion did not have much in the tank for Sunday’s final, overpowered by the home favorite, who is now world no. 6! Zverev defeated Alcaraz in straight sets twice in 2021, and the Spaniard was ready to respond following notable victories over Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Carried by that boost, a teenager stormed over a tired German to lift the season’s fourth title! Alcaraz served at 71% and dropped six points behind the initial shot. Feeling no pressure in his games, Carlos pushed hard on the return and grabbed half of the points.
Carlos Alcaraz is a two-time Masters 1000 champion after conquering Madrid.
He created eight break chances and seized four to control the scoreboard and emerge at the top in no time. The Spaniard fired 12 winners and 11 unforced errors, and the German plagued his chances with seven winners and 25 unforced errors, including a double fault on the match point. There were only eight rallies with over eight strokes, and Carlos forged a massive advantage in the shortest and mid-range exchanges to bring the victory home in no time. Alcaraz held in the opening game from 30-15 down and created a break chance at 2-1. Zverev saved it with a service winner and stayed on the positive side.
Returning at 3-2, the youngster grabbed a break at love to open the advantage and build confidence. Carlos closed the seventh game at 15 to extend the lead and secured the opener with a service winner in game nine for 6-3 in 31 minutes. Alcaraz placed a perfect drop shot winner in the second set’s third game to grab a break and confirmed it with a service winner in the next one for 3-1. Serving in game five, Alexander squandered game points and got broken after a crafty lob from the young gun that sent him 4-1 ahead. Returning at 5-1, Carlos seized the fourth match point after Alexander’s double fault to emerge at the top and write history books.