MADRID: Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his Madrid Open title with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff, moving closer to recovering his world No.1 ranking.
The 20-year-old Spaniard will be back at the top of the rankings going into the French Open if he plays at least one match at the upcoming Italian Open in Rome.
He converted on his first match point on Sunday after a hard-fought battle against Struff to secure his fourth title of the year and 10th of his impressive young career.
He had also successfully defended his title in Barcelona two weeks ago.
It was Alcaraz's 29th win of the season, and 21st straight in Spain going back to a loss to Rafael Nadal in Madrid on his 18th birthday two years ago.
Muchas gracias Madrid por dos semanas inolvidables que han terminado con el ! INOLVIDABLE! @MutuaMadridOpen pic.twitter.com/1rZWbi4P5K
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) May 7, 2023He joined Nadal as the only consecutive Madrid champion in tournament history and is the youngest player to successfully defend a Masters 1000 title since Nadal at Monte Carlo and Rome in 2005-06.
"For me it is so, so special," Alcaraz said.
"To lift the trophy here in Madrid. In my country. 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."
Alcaraz's other titles this year came in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells.
He is the first player to win two Masters 1000 trophies this season.
It is his fifth Masters 1000 title overall.
"It was a really tough match," Alcaraz said. "Jan was playing great, really aggressive.
In the second set, I had a lot of chances to break his serve and I didn't take it and it was tough for me to lose it.
I told myself that I had to be positive all the time and that I would have my chances and I think I did it in the third set."
ALSO READ: Alcaraz celebrates 20th birthday with return to Madrid final
The big-serving Struff was the first lucky loser to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final, having earned an unexpected spot in the main draw after another player had to drop out.
The 33-year-old German, ranked 65th in the world, was trying to become just the fourth player and first in more than 20 years to win his first tour-level trophy at a Masters 1000.
It was his second.
Struff had lost in the final round of qualifying to Aslan Karatsev, the player he eventually beat in the semifinals after upsetting fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.
An incredible weeks for both @Struffitennis & @carlosalcaraz @MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/C3foAu8DM9
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 7, 2023The final was his ninth match at the clay-court tournament in Madrid, compared to six for the top-seeded Alcaraz.
Struff beat Alcaraz on clay at the French Open in 2021, while Alcaraz needed five sets to down Struff at Wimbledon last year.
