Carlos Alcaraz crushes Alexander Zverev to lift Madrid Open title

Carlos Alcaraz completed another fairy-tale week in his fledgling career as he overwhelmed reigning champion Alexander Zverev to win the Madrid Open. The 19-year-old backed up victories over Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic en route to the final with an emphatic 6-3 6-1 success in just one hour and two minutes that cements his status as one of the favourites for this year’s French Open.

It also means Alcaraz is now an impressive 5-0 in ATP Tour finals as he becomes the youngest five-time champion on tour since Nadal won seven titles by the same age in 2004-05. Ad/> /> ATP RomeRome Open draw: Djokovic and Nadal could meet in semis, Alcaraz may face Zverev6 HOURS AGO It was Alcaraz who made the early moves with Zverev forced to save the first break point of the match with an ace down the T to level at 2-2 following a trio of unforced forehand errors from the No.2 seed.

The Spaniard continued to dictate the rallies with his full repertoire of shot-making and he made the breakthrough in devastating style when he dismantled the world No.3's serve to break to love and snare a 4-2 lead. There would be no let-up either as the teenager confidently served out a 31-minute set to love to send the home crowd into raptures.

Zverev came into the final with a 19-2 record in Madrid, including nine straight wins, but he simply had no answer to the power, athleticism and tactical awareness of his opponent. It was no surprise when Alcaraz broke again for a 2-1 lead early in Set 2 as he conjured up what is now a trademark drop shot to completely outfox his opponent and take the game to love.