The 19-year-old Spanish prodigy Carlos Alcaraz overpowered Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 brilliantly Sunday in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona, and thus retains his title, a year after his first coronation in Catalonia.
The world No. 2 and seeded No. 1 in Barcelona was somewhat roughed up early in the game by his Greek rival, who hung him up to 3-3, but the Spaniard, thanks to his devastating drop shots, s It then took off in the first set which he won 6-3.
In the second set, Alcaraz broke his rival at 2-2 to break away 4-2, then chained the perfect blows to achieve for the first time in his young career to retain a title in an ATP tournament, ending with a game white and four winners on his serve.
“I made the game I wanted to make. To be relaxed on the court, to feel the blows… That was the goal. Normally this never happens to me, but last night before sleeping I was stressed, and this morning when I woke up I was also tense. But I had worked with my psychologist to tell me to try to enjoy the finals, then I did a good warm-up, which allowed me to release the pressure, and it worked, ”the winner confided to the microphone of Spanish television.
This trophy allows “Carlitos” to fill up with confidence, one month before the start of Roland-Garros. This is the ninth title in the professional career of the Spanish phenomenon, already winner this season of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 on hard court a month ago, beating Daniil Medvedev in the final and the ATP 250 tournament in Buenos Aires in February.
Last year, the Murcia prodigy outclassed his compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2, at just 18 years old, to seize his first coronation in Barcelona.
Tsitsipas still fallen
After two weeks of interruption due to physical glitches at the end of the Miami Masters 1000, which he left in the semi-finals after a loss in three sets 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 2-6 against Italy’s Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz struggled in the round of 16 and quarter-finals in Barcelona, before unfolding in the semi-final against Daniel Evans and beating Tsitsipas in the final for the fourth time in four encounters.
“It’s a tournament that I love. When I was very young, I came to watch a few matches in this tournament and I played for this club when I was eleven or twelve years old. I love this club, I love this tournament, and having the chance to lift the trophy a second time here is really special,” Alcaraz assured Saturday after his semi-final.
On the other hand, it is the third defeat in the final in Barcelona for the 24-year-old Greek, 5th in the world, who had already been defeated by Rafael Nadal in 2018 6-2, 6-1 and in 2021 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5.
In 2022, Alcaraz defeated him 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
It is also the second defeat in the final this season for Tsitsipas, after that conceded in January in the final of the Australian Open to world No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz and Tsitsipas will meet again next week at the Masters 1000 in Madrid, where they will again be the headliners, in the absence of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who are out of injury.
2023-04-23 15:24:00
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