Carlos Alcaraz falls, fruit of fortune. He falls to the ground and touches his temple, saying that that is the key, that there is a granite mentality in addition to imagination and that it is thanks to the first of those that he managed to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff’s attack in the final resist three C’s that he and his grandfather proclaim. Heads, heads and more heads this time: 6-4, 3-6 and 6-3 (in 2h 25m). It was a pick and shovel tournament. Shines, yes, but same dose of work. The confetti surrounds him again, crowned again in the Magic Box and even higher above the rest. History repeats itself. The man from El Palmar faced a historic challenge because Rafael Nadal has been the only tennis player to date able to defend the title in the Caja Mágica and he has met the challenge well. Now there are two and he, the 20-year-old sensation, stands out as a clear contender for the Roland Garros title.
Alcaraz flies higher and higher, the only player to have signed two consecutive doubles in Barcelona and Madrid. Unstoppable, the boy from El Palmar has established himself as the tennis player of the hour with four trophies this year – Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Godó and the latter – and a game as seductive as it was decisive wrong. Despite his young age, he dispatches rivals as if he were a veteran and begins to build a more than formidable track record; He already has a Grand (US Open 2022), four Masters 1000 – same as his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero -, ten trophies in total – same as Andrés Gimeno and Félix Mantilla – and knows the top stars.
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He is behind Djokovic in the ranking today, but is practically number one again. It would be enough for him to go to Rome this week and set foot on the sand; If he jumps on the track, he would regain the throne. This success also makes him the new leader of the annual race ahead of Daniil Medvedev; he and the Russian are the two players who have won the most titles (4) and wins (33 and 29 respectively) this season. However, if there’s one goal that the Murcian has between his eyebrows, it’s to triumph in Paris, where he reached the quarter-finals last year and the previous one was defeated precisely by Struff in the third round. The German knew the way and set a full-fledged trap.
Alcaraz poses with the Open Mutua Madrid champion trophy.INMA FLORES
Carlos Alcaraz with the trophy after beating Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open played at the Caja Mágica in Madrid this Sunday. INMA FLOWERS
Carlos Alcaraz and Jan-Lennard Struff in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open played with their trophies at the Caja Mágica this Sunday.INMA FLORES
Carlos Alcaraz at a time of the game INMA FLORES
Struff deducts a serve from Alcaraz. INMA FLOWERS
Alcaraz returns a ball in the final.INMA FLORES
Struff goes online in the final. INMA FLOWERS
Alcaraz hits the ball in the final of the Open Mutua de Madrid.INMA FLORES
Struff looked worried. INMA FLOWERS
Alcaraz prepares to serve INMA FLORES
Struff serves against Alcaraz in Madris this afternoon. INMA FLOWERS
Alcaraz serve against Struff. INMA FLOWERS
The audience cheers in the Caja Mágica.INMA FLORES
Carlos Alcaraz makes a gesture of trust this afternoon at the Caja Mágica.INMA FLORES
Alcaraz returns a ball to Struff. INMA FLOWERS
Struff screams after winning a point from Alcaraz PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU (AFP)
Carlos Alcaraz reacts after a match against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.INMA FLORES
Alcaraz returns a ball in the final. THOMAS COEX (AFP)
Struff hits the ball in the final in front of Alcaraz this afternoon. THOMAS COEX (AFP)
Carlos Alcaraz draws attention to Foxtenn for an OUT of the German struff SERGIO PEREZ (EFE)
German tennis player Jan-Lennard Struff, during the match. JUAN MEDINA (Portal)
Alcaraz Y Struff, before the start of the game. INMA FLOWERS
Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and singer Nathy Peluso in the stands of Manolo Santana Stadium. Chema Moya (EFE)
Carlos Alcaraz serves against German Jan-Lennard Struff in the final. Chema Moya (EFE)
From left: Alberto Núñez Feijóo, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Miquel Iceta in the stands of Manolo Santana Stadium. Chema Moya (EFE)
Carlos Alcaraz, during the game. PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU (AFP)
German tennis player Jan-Lennard Struff celebrates a point against the Spaniards.chema Moya (EFE)
Carlos Alcaraz, during the game. JUAN MEDINA (Portal)
Carlos Alcaraz, arriving at the central courtyard of the Caja Mágica. Julian Finney (THE COUNTRY)
Alberto Núñez Feijóo (centre), leader of the People’s Party, arriving at the Mutua Madrid Open court. Chema Moya (EFE)
Murcia President Fernando López Miras (PP) at the Manolo Santana stadium where the Mutua Madrid Open will be held SERGIO PEREZ (EFE)
Antonio Garamendi Lecanda (centre), President of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations, upon his arrival at the Mutua Madrid Open court. Chema Moya (EFE)
A court technician checks the Madrid sign on the clay courts at the Mutua Madrid Open. Chema Moya (EFE)
No one (or only the optimists) counted on him, eliminated in the preliminary stages and recaptured by a last-minute defeat, a guerrilla fighter throughout the course and also in the final. Actually a trompe l’oeil. He already warned: “I’m prepared, I can win.” Few (only the optimists, it is said) believed him. It happens that Struff is back as a tennis player, straightened up after a bitter streak – he fell to No. 160 – and those who follow tennis closely know his worth. He’s not lame, quite the opposite. Strike, but think. Protected by his excellent serve percentages, he’s more than a three or four shot giant. He can play, he has a sense of smell, his strings give off a whiff and he doesn’t lack determination.
“Go to the Lutheran!”
At 33, the size of his first final in a 1000m didn’t surpass him. Rather the opposite. Despite starting wrong with two double faults in the first game, conceding a break and delivering the first set, he made it clear from the start thanks to another double fault that cost him a second break that he wasn’t going to speculate and that I was in the would not get on his knees in the event of a fall. Extremely aggressive towards the others, he fearlessly approached Alcaraz, knife in hand and determined to seek him out rather than wait and compromise; If he had, he probably wouldn’t have had a choice. So all or nothing. He was brave and gallantry rewarded him. More than a cold sweat in the Magic Box. Struff? Yes, Struff.
Struff hits the ball in the final this afternoon. INMA FLOWERS
“Go to the Lutheran!” they urged him from the grandstands of the venue. “Long live Spain! Long live Ayuso! Long live Murcia! Long live the mother who gave birth to you, Carlitos!” they shouted from the stands, where the tone of celebration gave way to a climate of concern as the German pushed and pushed , replied all the time, and Alcaraz began to dig into him little by little the complaint.After the first set was decided, the number two couldn’t escape a rush and although he threatened to pick up the deficit (3-0), Struff stood his ground – and saved five break points in an endless debate – to take the duel towards territory Uncertainty.”I don’t see it…” Ferrero commented on the bench.
An impressive armour
It happens that Alcaraz sets more and more records, and to the standard virtuosity he gradually adds the intangibles of the craft. Pure gold. Facing the storm, it does not bend or turn its face, but grows. He oozes confidence and despite being in a very tricky situation against the ropes and Struff looking for the final blow, he knows how to escape. He got it on day one against the sharp-witted Emil Ruusuvuori; he also dodged Karen Khachanov’s attack in the quarterfinals; and he repeated this Sunday when the opponent had a break option on the last straight. A lump in the fan’s throat, but not his own. He doesn’t know the eighties MacGyver, but he has something of the agent. When the score was 2-1, Struff took the lead, but forgave and then melted. The champion did not forgive, restored the blows.
The German died on schedule – more like Wimbledon, with 51 climbs to the net – but he hit concrete. This head has impressive armor. Alcaraz continue to show themselves as a sensational competitor here and there, unchallenged on the clay. He has seven awards on this surface and this year 2023 he has met little resistance; He only gave up against Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the final in Rio de Janeiro, but then he played the latter part of the game marred by an awkward leg. From there a military parade, one bite after another. From win to win, the boy continues to offer many certainties and clear up just as many unknowns, except one, translated into the million-dollar question: the question is how long it takes, how far it goes. Sport opens its arms to welcome another Martian.
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