At 18 years and 11 months old, the explosive Spanish tennis player also ended the curse of Spanish tennis in this tournament, one of the most prestigious on the circuit after the Grand Slams.
His idol Rafael Nadal was runner-up five times and three other Spaniards also fell in finals.
Alcaraz, undefeated in his three ATP finals, did not shake his pulse and beat Ruud 7-5 and 6-4 supported by the public at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami (Florida).
This triumph makes him the youngest champion of the 37 editions of the tournament, beating Serbian Novak Djokovic (19 years and 10 months in 2007).
“When I won the last point, everything came to my mind. All the dreams, the hard work, the training, the problems.”recalled a radiant Alcaraz before the press.
The Spaniard began to confirm his immense potential in a final that none of the contenders to succeed the ‘Big 3’ of the ATP made up of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federerall absent from Miami for different reasons.
In the Masters 1000 tournament set, Alcaraz is the third-youngest champion after American Michael Chang in Toronto in 1990 (18 years and 157 days) and Nadal in Monte Carlo in 2005 (18 years and 318 days).
“Many congratulations Carlitos for your HISTORICAL victory in Miami. The first of many to come, for sure!”congratulated him on Twitter Nadal, who is recovering from an injury.
“I admire Rafa and I learn from him. I remember seeing his big games in important moments. I learned a lot from that.”Alcaraz recognized him in turn.
Nadal himself, the tennis player with the most Grand Slam titles (21), was at the gates of the title in Miami five times: 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017.
Neither did the Spanish finalists Sergi Bruguera (1997), Carlos Moyá (2003) and David Ferrer (2013).
alcaraz He ended the drought in a tense final, in which he did not show all his exuberant tennis but did show an unusual cold blood to overcome a 1-4 deficit in the first set.
Ruud, with a higher hierarchy in the ATP ranking (8th place to 16th of Alcaraz), he was also a debutant in a Masters 1000 final and could not recover from his rival’s comeback in the first set.
The Spaniard had been warning that something big was coming since he knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas, then world number three, in September and became the earliest tennis player to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open in the Open era (since 1968).
In February he became the youngest to win an ATP 500 category tournament, with his triumph in Rio de Janeiro, and to enter the top-20 of the ATP among active players.
“I am burning stages so fast… I did not expect this. My goal was to finish the year in the top-15 (of the ATP) and I am already at number 11”, he claimed. “Now I would like to win a Grand Slam but that is a very big thing.”
His coach, former player Juan Carlos Ferrero, believes that he is ready to reach the final stretch of the big tournaments.
“The level is there, and I think this is going to happen many times. It’s just a matter of preparing him a little mentally so that he adapts to all the circus that is coming”said the former world number one.
In Sunday’s final, Alcaraz initially paid for the nerves of arriving as the favorite and, in too much of a hurry to finish the points, was more imprecise than usual.
Ruud took advantage of it to break his serve at the first opportunity and take a 1-4 lead.
Alcaraz kept his composure, broke Ruud for the first time and accelerated to tie 4-4.
Confidence had changed sides and Ruud stepped back in the face of Alcaraz’s onslaught of tennis, who broke a break in game eleven and finished off the set on serve.
The Spaniard kept his foot on the accelerator and took a 3-0 lead in the second set. The Norwegian burned his last cartridges by approaching 3-4 but Alcaraz did not suffer the vertigo and sealed the victory keeping his serve.
Excited, the Spaniard ran to the stands in search of his father Carlos, former player and director of the tennis school in Murcia (east) where he gave his first rackets, and also Ferrero.
The coach was barely able to travel to Miami for the final after the death of his father.
“It’s a difficult time for him and I want to thank him for being with me,” said Alcaraz on the podium with the trophy with which he crosses the threshold from promise to reality.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
