Spanish teen tennis star beats Zverev 6-3, 6-1 to win Madrid Open on clay
\nMADRID
\nTeenager Carlos Alcaraz continued his blazing rise by demolishing Alexander Zverev in the Madrid final on Sunday and then said \u201cI really want to prove my level in a Grand Slam\u201d.
\nTwo weeks before the start of the French Open, the young Spaniard brushed aside his third-ranked foe 6-3, 6-1 in 62 minutes to continue a run that signals tennis has a new power.
\n\u201cI really want to go to Paris to win a Grand Slam, to show my level in a Grand Slam,\u201d said Alcaraz at a press conference after winning the second Masters 1000 of his career.
\n\u201cPeople are going to take me as a favourite, but I take that as motivation,\u201d added Alcaraz.
\nHe said he will miss the Rome claycourt tournament this week after injuring an ankle in beating Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals on Friday.
\n\u201cThis morning, because of the fall against Rafa, I woke up with a more swollen ankle and I also had a blister that had become infected,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt was a little difficult to walk, but… we were able to do a few things to be at 100 percent for the match.\u201d
\nBefore the Madrid tournament last year, Alcaraz was ranked 120th in the world. On Monday he will reach number six.
\n\u201cI have five more to go to be the best in the world,\u201d he said.
\nHe became the youngest US Open quarter-finalist of the Open era last September, then won his first Masters 1000 title in Miami in early April.
\nVictory on Sunday brought a second Masters 1000 title. The only younger player to reach that milestone was Nadal, who won in Monte Carlo and Rome when he was 18.
\nAlcaraz turned 19 on Thursday and over the next two days battled past Nadal in two hours and 28 minutes and Novak Djokovic in 3hr 36min.
\n\u201cI am 19 years old, which I think is the key to be able to play long and tough matches in a row. I am feeling great physically,\u201d he said
\n\u201cIt feels great to be able to beat these players. To beat two of the best players in history and then Zverev, the world No. 3. He is a great player. I would say this is the best week of my life,\u201d he said.
\nZverev had no doubt where the teenager\u2019s trajectory is heading.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s great to see for tennis that we have such a new superstar who is going to win so many Grand Slams and is going to be world no. 1,\u201d said the German.
\nThe atmosphere on Sunday did not reach the fervour of the day before, as Alcaraz grabbed control early and cruised to his quickest victory of the week.
\nEven so, \u201cit was a spectacular atmosphere,\u201d he told the crowd at the end.
\n\u201cThis tournament is special for me because it\u2019s the first tournament I watched when I was seven or eight,\u201d said Alcaraz.
\n\u201cWatching Rafa lift this trophy so often, gave me a lot of power to work hard for this moment.\u201d
\nZverev complained that he was \u201cdead\u201d because he had played the latest matches the previous two nights, yet he was impressed with Alcaraz.
\n\u201cCarlitos, right now you are the best player in the world. Even though you are still five years old you are still beating us all,\u201d he told Alcaraz on court after the match.
\nAlcaraz said he had some way to go.
\n\u201cI still have to improve in everything,\u201d he said. \u201cI have very good shots, but they can be improved and can be much better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spanish teen tennis star beats Zverev 6-3, 6-1 to win Madrid Open on clay MADRID Teenager Carlos Alcaraz continued his blazing rise by demolishing Alexander Zverev in the Madrid final on Sunday and then said \u201cI really want to prove my level in a Grand Slam\u201d. Two weeks before the start of the French Open, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6433,3280,7026],"class_list":{"0":"post-259615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports","7":"tag-carlos-alcaraz","8":"tag-eyes","9":"tag-roland-garros"},"yoast_head":"\n