Alcaraz takes Madrid Open title to rewrite history of tennis

Carlos Alcaraz, a 19-year-old World No.4 tennis star from Spain, defeated Alexander Zverev 2-0 (6-3, 6-1) in the final round of the ATP Masters 1,000 series in Madrid, becoming the youngest player (19 years and three days) to win the title of the Mutua Madrid Open, which was founded in 2002. “I first started dreaming about becoming a tennis player watching Nadal winning the Madrid Open in 2010, which makes this even more special,” Alcaraz said after the game was over.

Alcaraz defeated Nadal in the quarterfinals and eliminated Djokovic in the next round, becoming the only player ever to have defeated the both living legends in a clay-court event. Having won seven wins in a row against world’s top 10 rankers, Alcaraz has also won the most wins this season with 28 wins (three defeats).

The Spanish is also considered as a strong favorite of the upcoming French Open, which will kick off on May 16. Nadal was also 19 when he won the French Open in 2005, establishing himself as one of the Big Three along with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. “I think the French Open is a great challenge worth taking on,” Alcaraz said. “I want to test how far I can go in a major competition.”


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com