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Carlos Alcaraz bagged the 2023 Madrid Masters title despite being stretched by Jan Lennard-Struff who took the second set in style to set up a delectable decider. It was the resilient local hero who pulled off a memorable home win with a scoreline that read 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday, May 7.
Alcaraz was tested earlier in the tournament by the likes of Emil Ruusuvuori and Karen Khachanov. He then played some of his best tennis under pressure in the final much to the delight of the Madrid crowd.
The ecstatic Spaniard asserted that it was special to win a tournament in front of family and friends. His dad also watched the match from the stands as he has done throughout the course of the tournament.
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"It's always special to play in Spain, you know, and be able to give a good result here, to be the champion here. You know, in front of my home crowd, in front of my family, my friends, everyone close to me." Carlos Alcaraz stated during the course of an on-court interview after the victory. "So for me, it's a special win that I will never forget."
The 20-year-old was also asked if the crowd also built pressure owing to the great expectations. He insisted that he was grateful for the support, especially during the bad periods.
"As I said, a lot of times it's really, really great that you have a lot of people behind you, supporting you and trying to push you in the bad moments." he added.
Carlos Alcaraz also spoke highly of the man he downed in the summit clash while inching closer to the coveted World No. 1 spot.
"Jan-Lennard Struff brought such a strong game, such an aggressive game" - Carlos Alcaraz lauds opponent after Madrid Masters win
Jan-Lennard Struff pushed his fancied opponent with some incredible return of serves. He also attacked the net well, preventing Carlos Alcaraz from using his trademark drop often enough.
The youngster acknowledged as much while lauding the German for being "so aggressive". Alcaraz claimed that he had his chances in the second set which he did not take but motivated himself to be positive in the crucial third set.
"Well, yeah, it has been a really tough one, you know, Jan was playing great shots, really, really aggressive. Sometimes I couldn't play my game, just waiting for my chances. And yeah, in the second set I had a lot of chances to break his serve but I did not take it," he explained. It was tough for me to lose the second set. But I told myself that I had to be positive all the time." the 2022 US Open champion revealed.
Carlos Alcaraz is now just five points of short of Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings ahead of the Rome Masters. He is the second player in history to have registered successive title wins in Madrid after his idol and compatriot Rafael Nadal did the same in 2013 and 2014.
