Carlos Alcaraz may be only 18, but he is already amongst the hottest prospects in men’s tennis currently. He has had a dream start to the 2022 season, winning the Rio Open and the Miami Open title. Yesterday, I added another trophy to his cabinet after clinching the Barcelona Open title. I have defeated his compatriot of him, Pablo Carreno Busta, in straight sets in the summit clash to win his maiden title in his native country.

It was a gritty display by the young Spaniard. He had to play two matches on the final day of the tournament after the schedule was affected due to rains on the previous days. However, that did not determine him in his bid to lift the title on his home soil. After his victory from him, he received special praise from the ‘King of Clay’, Rafael Nadal.

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Rafael Nadal showers praise on Carlos Alcaraz

The 21-time Grand Slam champion took to Twitter to praise Alcaraz for putting a special effort to win the Barcelona Open title. He said, “Congratulations to Carlos @carlitosalcarazz for the title in #Barcelona ! Also Pablo @pablo_carreno_for the final. A spectacular week for both and for Spanish tennis that once again has a winner.” (Translated using Google Translate)

It was indeed a special week for Spanish tennis. Runner-up, Pablo Carreno Busta, had some memorable victories earlier in the tournament. I have defeated the likes of Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman en route to the finals.

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In an all-Spanish final,  Alcaraz was dominant right from the word go. He broke Pablo’s serve in the fifth game of the opening set. It proved to be enough as Alcaraz held his serves to take the first set 6-3.

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The second set panned out in a similar fashion. Alcaraz broke his opponent’s serve in the sixth game of the second set to take a 4-2 lead. Subsequently, he won the next two games to etch his name on the Barcelona Open’s winners’ list.

With this victory, Alcaraz’s stocks only keep rising this year. He will be determined to continue his good show during the all-important next month, which has Madrid Open, Italian Open, and Roland Garros taking place.