Ruud fails to escape from Alcaraz as Spanish teenager makes tennis history in Miami
- Michael Graham
- 4 April 2022
Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz becomes youngest ever ATP champion at Miami Open.
Carlos Alcaraz made tennis history as he became the youngest ever champion at the Miami Open.
The hugely impressive 18-year-old faced Casper Ruud in Sunday's final, and overcame a poor start to roar to victory.
Alcaraz was 1-4 down in the opening set before he settled in to what was the biggest match of his career.
Once he did settle, though, Ruud had no answer. Alcaraz turned the first set on its head to win 7-5, leaving him just one set away.
The second set was much more routine, with Alcaraz getting two early breaks before closing it out 6-4.
"I have no words to describe how I feel right now I feel," Alcaraz said.
"It's so special to win my first Masters 1000 here in Miami. I have an unbelievable team with me."
It makes Alcaraz the youngest ever champion at Miami, and the third youngest Masters level champion in ATP history.
Only Rafael Nadal (2005 Monte Carlo) and Michael Chang (1990 Rogers Cup) have won a Masters tournament younger than Alcaraz.
It is the latest in an incredible, yet not wholly unexpected, rise for Alcaraz this season with him also winning Rio and reaching the semi-final of Indian Wells.
Players to reach both Indian Wells & Miami semi-finals as a teenager:
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 1, 2022
🇺🇸 Andre Agassi (19 years old)
🇬🇧 Andy Murray (19 years old)
🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic (19 years old)
🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal (19 years old)
🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz (18 years old)@alcarazcarlos03 #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/IFRhyapREp
His game was also given a major endorsement from Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle who coached him for most of his career.
"His evolution in these months has been meteoric. He has improved in all aspects of his game, both physically and technically," Nadal said before the Miami final.
"He does everything and he does everything well".
"I have had the opportunity to see some of his matches in recent tournaments and I must say that his game has left me impressed.
"He has become a complete player and very difficult to overwhelm. His high technical capacity is combined with an extraordinary physical condition. He has a fast and powerful game that is difficult to beat.
"He combines devastating blows with subtle drops and has the necessary self-confidence to dare to execute the most difficult blows in the most difficult moments."
Alcaraz is now on the brink of breaking into the top ten ahead of clay season, which is arguably his strong surface.
