Carlos Alcaraz is now a two-time champion of the Mutua Madrid Open after beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the final on Sunday evening.
Alcaraz won the 2022 Madrid title in his last year as a teenager. He successfully defended it in the first year of his 20s, as he celebrated his 20th birthday with Friday’s semifinal victory over Borna Coric.
Unsurprisingly, though, it was no walk in the park against Struff. The 33-year-old defeated Alcaraz in straight sets at Roland Garros in 2021 and pushed the Spaniard to five sets at Wimbledon last summer. Struff again forced a decider in their third encounter, but Alcaraz bounced back from dropping the second set to triumph after two hours and 25 minutes.
“It was a really tough match,” Alcaraz commented. “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. 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.”
After taking the second, Struff even had a break point at 1-1 in the third to take control. However, Alcaraz saved it, held for 2-1, and held the upper hand the rest of the way. A break in the next game proved to be decisive for the top seed, who earned two more break points at 4-1 but could not convert. Missing that chance hardly mattered, though, as Alcaraz took care of his serve at love in each of his last two service games.
“For me it is so, so special,” the winner added. “To lift the trophy here in Madrid, in my country, it is always special to play and to be able to [have] a good result here.”
It was still a remarkable fortnight for Struff, who became the first-ever lucky loser to reach the final of a Masters 1000 tournament. Interestingly, the world No. 65 lost to Aslan Karatsev in the final round of qualifying and ended up beating Karatsev in the semifinals.
While Struff thought he was out of the tournament 12 days ago, Alcaraz also came dangerously close to exiting far earlier than the final. In his very first match, the world No. 2 trailed Emil Ruusuvuori by a set and had to fight off five break points to avoid going a break down in the second.
Fast forward two weeks and Alcaraz is the Madrid Masters champion. Again.
nice one, Charles