Alcaraz defended his title in Madrid

Carlos Alcaraz defended his title at the clay tennis tournament of the "Masters 1000" series in the Spanish capital Madrid with a prize fund of 7.7 million euros. The leader in the scheme and number 2 in the world ranking Alcaraz beat the "lucky loser" from the qualifiers Jan-Lenard Struff from Germany in the final with 6:4, 3:6, 6:3 in 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Thus, he recorded his 21st consecutive victory in the ATP on Spanish soil and a total of 29 successes since the beginning of the season. The Spaniard claimed his fourth title of the year after triumphs in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells and Barcelona, his fifth Masters trophy and the tenth overall of his career.

Alcaraz joins Rafael Nadal as back-to-back champions in the history of the Madrid tournament and is the youngest tennis player to defend his Masters 1000 title since Nadal in Monte Carlo and Rome in the 2005/2006 season.

Alcaraz, 20, struggled on his forehand at times, winning just 60 percent of his first serve points in the opening two sets. In the third part, he led 4:1 and closed the match without problems.

Alcaraz is also preparing for the French Open this month. He will return to the top of the world rankings after playing one match in Rome next week. At 20 years and two days old, Alcaraz is the sixth youngest player to win 10 ATP titles in the Open era. The 33-year-old Struff failed to become the second "lucky loser" to win an ATP title this season after Korea Republic's Kwon Sun-woo triumphed in Adelaide in January.

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