Madrid Open 2022: 3 Things that stood out in Carlos Alcaraz's win over Alexander Zverev in the final

Seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain won his maiden Madrid Open title by defeating second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-3, 6-1 in the final on Sunday. It was Alcaraz’s second Masters 1000 triumph and his fourth title in 2022.

The final was a bit anti-climactic in the end as the 19-year-old dismantled the German with a clinical performance. The match lasted for a little more than an hour.

On that note, let’s take a look at three factors that stood out in the match:

#1 Carlos Alcaraz did not take long before getting his first break as the match started with faster, shorter rallies

Alcaraz faced a different sort of challenge going into the final as compared to his previous encounters as Zverev is a more attacking player than either Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic. As expected, Zverev hit his groundstrokes with a lot of power and it was reciprocated by the Spaniard, who boasts of fierce groundstrokes himself.

As a result, the rallies were typically faster and shorter. The players managed to hold their respective serves until the sixth game of the first set, after which Carlos Alcaraz got his first break by winning the game to love. Zverev started committing unforced errors frequently as the match progressed and Alcaraz had no problem gaining the upper-hand.

#2 Carlos Alcaraz won the first set as Zverev started to struggle in his return games

Zverev struggled in his return games and was also vulnerable on the forehand side

As the first set progressed, Zverev started having great difficulty in returning his opponent’s serve. He hit a number of returns long and Alcaraz had no problem serving out the first set. Alcaraz opted to serve-and-volley on a few occasions and hit a few volley winners.

Zverev’s forehand was also vulnerable as he committed seven unforced errors off it in the first set. Alcaraz spotted that weakness and started directing most of the traffic to his opponent’s forehand side. He also played his customary drop shots on a few occasions to good effect. Carlos Alcaraz won the final game easily to take the first set 6-3.

The Spaniard won 93% and 75% of the points off his first and second serves, respectively. He also served at Zverev's forehand side more often as the match progressed and the tactic paid off.

#3 Carlos Alcaraz ran through the final set as double faults compounded Zverev’s misery

The second set was more one-sided than the first as Alcaraz had no problem stamping his authority. Zverev frequently struggled to stay in rallies as the Spaniard was decidedly superior in the baseline exchanges. Alcaraz’s superb court coverage ensured that Zverev could rarely hit through him with his groundstrokes.

Zverev’s struggles with his service returns continued in the second set too, as Alcaraz won most of his service games comfortably. Alcaraz broke Zverev in the fourth and sixth games of the second set and never failed to hold his serve.

The Spaniard converted four of the eight break point chances he had in the match, whereas Zverev failed to notch up a single break point opportunity. To make matters worse for the German, he committed five double faults in the match, including one on match point. Alcaraz hit 12 winners in the match, which was modest by his standards, but more than enough to prevail on the day.