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Carlos Alcaraz captured his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title when he overcame German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to successfully defend his crown at the Madrid Open.
With his 29th victory of the season and 10th tour-level title, Alcaraz will rise to No. 1 in the ATP Live Rankings after playing his opening match in Rome. Throughout the two hours and 25 minutes of the final, Alcaraz struggled with his serve at times, only winning 60 per cent (27/45) of his first-serve points in the first two sets. Despite this, the top seed fought valiantly and escaped a German attack barrage. In the third set, he struck nine winners to win, unleashing his powerful groundstrokes with authority and accuracy at the approaching Struff. The 53-minute first set saw the defending champion withstand the German's hard-hitting while retaining rallies with his superb quickness and forcing Struff into mistakes. At 3-3 in the opening set, Struff double-flubbed, and Alcaraz battled from 0/40 to hold when serving for the set. This proved to be the break that Alcaraz needed to win. He began to win the lengthy exchanges and hit with more freedom as the match went on. He also pulled Struff around the court with his drop shot to earn the victory. "For me, it is so, so special. 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 is close to me. For me, it is a special feeling that I will never forget," ATP.com quoted Alcaraz as saying. "It was a really tough match. 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," Alcaraz said. This year, Alcaraz has claimed four victories at the tour level. He won on clay in Buenos Aires and Barcelona and on hard at Indian Wells to win the title. He took the lead in the ATP Live Race to Turin with his victory in the Spanish capital. Alcaraz hasn't taken the lead in the Live Race until this season. "Once again it has been amazing. The crowd, my people, since the first day, were cheering my name. It is really amazing to have a lot of people behind you and supporting you and pushing you on," Alcaraz added. (ANI)
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