Berliner Tageblatt - Teenager Alcaraz crushes Zverev in Madrid Open final

The victory in just over an hour took the 19-year-old's winning streak to 10 matches.

Alcaraz beat Rafael Nadal and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on his way to the final -- a first in a clay court tournament -- and will climb to No. 6 in the world on Monday.

"This tournament is special for me because it's a tournament I came and watched when I was seven or eight," said Alcaraz.

The German second seed was impressed.

"Right now you are the best player in the world. Even though you are still five years old you are still beating us all," he told Alcaraz on court after the match.

Alcaraz broke in the sixth game and comfortably held his serve to take the first set.

The German second seed, had come into the final with a nine-match winning streak in Madrid, but, after holding in the first game of the second set, he unravelled.

Alcaraz galloped through the next five games and into a 0-40 lead, Zverev saved three match points but then double-faulted on deuce and again on the fourth match point.

The German saved three but then served a fifth double fault of the match to hand Alcaraz victory.

"This is tennis," said Zverev. "You cannot be perfect every day."

"Even though I lost quite badly today this is still my favourite court in the world," added Zverev, a champion in the Spanish capital in 2018 and 2021.

K.Thomson--BTB