Carlos Alcaraz is the king of clay. That’s what the numbers say. Of his last 18 matches on the surface, 17 have gone his way. The Roland Garros champion and Paris Games finalist continued his good form on clay on Sunday with the Montecarlo title. His latest victim was Lorenzo Musetti, with a score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. He is the leader in matches won this season (20), tied with Alex de Minaur, and trophies (2), along with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
It is his 18th title as a professional and the sixth in the Masters 1000 category, an exclusive terrain where he had not won for 392 days. It had been a long time since Indian Wells 2024, but Alcaraz’s talent is always there and can come out at any timeCarlitos is the sixth member of the ‘Armada’ to inscribe his name on the prestigious list of winners after Manolo Orantes (1),Sergi Bruguera (2), Carlos Moya (1), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2) and Rafael Nadal (11). Before the tournament was officially classified (1969), Andres Gimeno and Manolo Santana also won.
The final was marked by weather conditions that threatened rain at any moment. That is why the final was brought forward three hours from the scheduled time. Musetti had also played one more match and 3 hours and 55 minutes more than his opponentThe sand was very heavy and it was difficult to move the ball. Alcaraz broke his opponent’s serve at the start. Lorenzo had the favor of the crowd as a resident of the Principality of Monaco.
The Spaniard saved the first two break points, one of them with a 163-kilometre-per-hour forehand. He could not cope with the third, a victim of his own mistakes. He had 10 unforced errors, all on serve
Musetti, in the blink of an eye, put a favorable score of 4-1, with four consecutive games. The Carrara tennis player was just waiting. Everything that happened in the final, for better or worse, was generated by the racket of the four-time Grand Slam champion
The Italian, to the cries of “Lorenzo” from the crowd, won the opening set. Alcaraz had to come from behind for the third time this week, having already done so against Francisco Cerundolo and Arthur Fils.
The yardstick for his tennis is his forehand and this was not working. Of the 14 unforced errors, 11 were with that shot. In the continuation, Carlitos returned to the scene with a 5-0 start. His opponent did quite well to avoid a bagel that seemed inevitable.
The chair umpire warned the Spaniard to hurry up when putting the ball in play. Samuel Lopez’s pupil went to the net whenever he could.
The future champion generated winners out of nowhere. The finalist was showing the first signs of cramp. Musetti was not up for many battles after playing 17 sets in six matches.
The score was 3-0 to the Spaniard, with two breaks of serve, when Lorenzo asked for the presence of the tournament doctor and physiotherapist. The new world number two finished with the 16th bagel of his short career.
From Monte Carlo to Barcelona to equal Nadal
Without much time for celebration, Alcaraz will travel to Barcelona today where on Tuesday he will make his debut in the Conde de Godo against a player from the qualifying round. He is chasing the double crown of Monte Carlo and Barcelona within a week. The last player to achieve this was Nadal in 2018.
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