Rotterdam [Netherlands], February 10 : Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz expressed happiness after securing the Rotterdam Open singles title, which is his first-ever indoor tour-level title.
After 16 tour-level titles and four Grand Slams, Alcaraz's chase for a maiden indoor tour-level title came to an end on Sunday as he defeated Alex de Minaur in the summit clash 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. He became the first-ever Spanish to win the title in its 52-year-old history.
Taking to Instagram, Alcaraz wrote, "It means so much to me to win in Rotterdam! It has been a very special week! Thank you for the support from day one! Congratulations @alexdeminaur for the tournament and a tremendous battle today in the final!."
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (@carlitosalcarazz)
De Minaur made Alcaraz play a third decider set, but the 21-year-old kept his rhythm intact to get his 17th tour-level title in a match that lasted one hour and 54 minutes.
Following the match, as quoted by ATP's official website, Alcaaz said to his team after the win, "This week has been a really good week all together. Putting in really good work. Coming here not feeling 100 per cent well with the cold but after every day I am feeling better and better. Rotterdam has been a really special week for me. I was going to say not only for the title... yeah for the title as well, but for the support that I received here since the first day."
"It was the first time that I was playing here and you made it like I have been playing this tournament for a long time," he added.
Alcaraz had become the first player to secure ATP 500 titles on clay, grass and hard courts and now has an indoor title finally. He has improved his record in tournament finals to 17-5. He also moved to 3-0 in the ATP head-to-head battle with De Minaur.
Alcaraz started his season with a quarterfinal finish in the Australian Open, losing to Novak Djokovic, but now has something to cheer about as it is his first trophy since beating Jannik Sinner at the Beijing Open last October.
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