The Spanish young-sensation Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his title at the Madrid Open on Sunday, May 7.
He won the title after defeating the German lucky-loser Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
"For me, it is so so special," said the US-Open champion. "To lift the trophy here in Madrid. In my country. It is always special to play and to be able to do a good result here and [being] a champion is so special. In front of my home crowd, my family, my friends. Everyone close to me. For me it is a special feeling that I will never forget."
Alcaraz also praised his opponent for not making it so easy for him.
"It was a really tough match," said the Spaniard. "Jan was playing great, really aggressive. In the second set I had a lot of chances to break his serve and I didn't take it and it was tough for me to lose it. I told myself that I had to be positive all the time and that I would have my chances and I think I did it in the third set."
The 20-year-old Spaniard becomes the youngest player to successfully defend an ATP masters 1000 title since Nadal at Monte-Carlo and Rome in 2005-06.
Alcaraz currently stands at number two in the ATP rankings, but he will replace the Serbian Novak Djokovic next week just by playing a match at the Italian Open next week.
After an injury-plagued start to the season, Alcaraz said he is 100% and thinking big, motivated to improve his game as he builds up for the French Open, which starts on May 28.
"I am an ambitious guy and I'm going full for the win in Rome," Alcaraz told a news conference on Sunday,” said the Madrid Open Champion. "What I am achieving is something big. I just have won my 10th title, my fourth Masters 1000, back-to-back titles here in Madrid and very close to reclaiming the number one world spot.”
It must be noted that Alcaraz has won back-to-back tournaments, Barcelona Open in April and now Madrid Open, which makes him the favorite of the upcoming French Open.