“Finals are not played, they are won” Carlos Alcaraz gives insight into his elite mentality after winning the Barcelona Open
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Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz continues to break records at will as he picks up another title, this time in front of his home crowd. Playing against compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta in the finals of the 2022 Barcelona Open, Alcaraz won the match 6-3, 6-2 to win his second ATP-500 title and his third of the season.
It was Alcaraz’s fourth career title and third on the claycourts. It was a tough tournament for Alcaraz as he was coming from a shocking second-round defeat at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters where he was one of the title contenders for many tennis fans but lost on his tournament debut. Apart from the finals in Barcelona, Alcaraz had only 1 other straight-set victory, his third-round win over Jaume Munar.
He had played his semi-finals on Sunday morning, a few hours before the finals as Saturday’s schedule was suspended with the rain playing spoilsport. In the semi-finals, Alcaraz saved multiple match points and saw Alex de Minaur out after a thrilling 3-hour battle and many believed that the teen would not be able to bring his best game to the finals against a well-rested Pablo, but Carlitos proved everyone wrong and took the title home.
Alcaraz had roughly 3 hours at his disposal between the semi-finals and finals to regroup and prepare his game strategy for Busta. Nevertheless, he turned up well to claim his second clay title of the season having earlier won the ATP-500 Rio Open 2022.
“It was a big final, I knew that after the game this morning I had to go on the court with clear things, playing aggressively. I had to make sure that the points didn’t take too long. What I have been taught since I was a child is that, finals are not played, they are won. This afternoon was arguably the best match of the tournament,” said Alcaraz as reported by WeloveTennis.
Carlos Alcaraz breaks into the Top-10 after the run in Barcelona
Starting the tournament as the World No. 11, Alcaraz was guaranteed a place in the Top-10 with his quarter-final win over World No. 5 and the defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, Alcaraz made sure that he entered the Top-10 with a title to his name and went on to claim the title and became the new World no. 9 when the rankings were updated on Monday, 25th April 2022. He is the youngest player in the Top-10 currently and the only teenager.
Also Read: WATCH: Rafael Nadal’s heartful message to Barcelona champion Carlos Alcaraz will make your day
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Sarthak Shitole
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