Carlos Alcaraz makes statement with Barcelona Open victory

Carlos Alcaraz claimed his third title of the season by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas to retain the Barcelona Open crown.

The Spaniard, who does not turn 20 until next month, was virtually flawless in a 6-3 6-4 victory over second seed Tsitsipas to add to his titles in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells.

Alcaraz remains behind Novak Djokovic in the rankings but, with the Serbian troubled by an elbow problem and out of the Madrid Open and Rafael Nadal struggling to play on clay at all as he battles a hip injury, the teenager could yet go into the French Open as the favourite.

Tsitsipas could find no answer to the all-round brilliance of Alcaraz, who missed the start of the season through injury but has been making up for lost time ever since.

After winning his ninth title, Alcaraz said: “It’s incredible. To feel this energy and lift the trophy in Barcelona in front of my family and friends, and most members of my team are here as well. Playing this level and to lift the trophy in front of them is a good feeling for me.”

Fellow teenager Holger Rune also successfully defended a title on Sunday, the young Dane coming out on top of a topsy-turvy affair against Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp at the BMW Open in Munich.

Having fought back in the second set, fourth seed Van De Zandschulp led 5-2 in the decider and served for the match three times but, despite creating four match points, ended up losing 6-4 1-6 7-6 (3).

FOURmidable