Carlos Alcaraz wrote another unforgettable chapter in a blossoming tennis career by winning the Barcelona Open.
The fifth seed defeated his mentor Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets to add another trophy to his collection.
The semi-finals were pushed to the same day as the final because of rain and the 18-year-old needed a marathon time of three hours and 40 minutes to overcome Alex de Minaur’s semifinal challenge in the longest best-of-three match of the season.
In that clash, the Aussie had two match points to win in straight sets but Alcaraz fought back to take the win.
Carlos Alcaraz carried the momentum into the final and seemed to be unaffected by the match as he showed no fatigue in the final overwhelming Carreno Busta in one hour and six minutes.
Both Spaniards share a strong bond as they train at the JC Ferrero Equelite Sports Academy so although this was the pair’s first Head2Head meeting, they were plenty familiar with one another.
Alcaraz’s power controlled the action and he did not face a breakpoint while converting four of his 10 break chances to triumph.
Carreno Busta had overcome the sixth-seeded Diego Schwartzman in straight sets to reach the final but he was unable to find the same consistency against his countryman, missing a forehand long at 2-2 to relinquish the first break of the match and a short backhand on set point to give up another service break.
Carreno Busta had to go for more to try to match Alcaraz’s weight of shot, but he was never able to find enough of a rhythm to trouble his younger opponent.
Alcaraz, who has now won three titles this season, is projected to climb to No. 9 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, making him the youngest player to crack the Top 10 since Rafael Nadal did it exactly 17 years ago after lifting his first Barcelona trophy.
