Carlos Alcaraz retains Madrid Masters 1000 title by dominating Jan-Lennard Struff in 3 sets

Alcaraz pulls off the double-double! After retaining his title in Barcelona two weeks ago, the world number two did it again in Madrid by winning in three sets (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) against lucky-loser Jan-Lennard Struff. . The Spaniard stammered his tennis for a long time in the Caja Magica, disturbed by the aggressiveness and the simple but terribly effective game plan of the German. But the Murcian managed to free himself after taking his opponent’s serve in the third set to win a fourth title this season and a fourth Masters 1000 in as many finals contested.

Struff passed his final

The defending champion and world number two against the lucky-loser and world number 65, the scenario of the poster for the final of the Madrid tournament seemed to go without saying. It will however have taken almost 2h30 of play for Alcaraz to put an end to the Spanish epic of Struff. Relying on a simple strategy of shortening exchanges as much as possible with big firsts, going to the net and very aggressive returns, the German quite simply succeeded in his final, winning only three small points less than his opponent.

Proof that the Murcian had to work from the beginning to the end of the meeting. Despite a break won from the start in the first set, Alcaraz never managed to let go of Struff, stuck in the rhythm imposed by the world number 65. With few long rallies to eat and struggling to take the initiative on the court, “Carlitos” had to wait to save three balls from 5-5 to finally win the first set. Confident in his game plan, the German did not change his guideline during the second round and this time it was he who proved to be the most solid.

Alcaraz retains title

Struff thus saved 5 break points at 1-3 to keep Alcaraz half-hearted at a distance, disgusting it with missiles sent in return and resisting even in the few exchanges between the two players. Relaxed, without pressure, this is how the native of Warstein made the Spaniard concede his second set of the tournament. Often dominating in his meetings, the world number two had to demonstrate a new palette of his game at only 20 years old: his ability to win matches he did not control.

And the world number two proved it brilliantly by first saving a break point at 1-1 at the start of the third set before taking the German’s serve at 2-1. A sequence which allowed Alcaraz to finally free itself a little bit. The end of the match will not have been great tennis but the Murcian provides the essentials by becoming the youngest player since Rafael Nadal in 2006 to keep his property on a Masters 1000.