Carlos Alcaraz completed his dream run at the Miami Open by defeating Casper Ruud in straight sets to win the Miami Open and become the third youngest player in history to claim a Masters 1000 title.
The 18-year-old rising star rallied his way to a 7-5, 6-4, win over the world No.8 to record just his seventh win over a top 10 player in his young career. Alcaraz appeared tentative early on in the final before carefully working his way into the match. Producing a series of blistering forehand shots and effectively utilizing the drop shot to his advantage. In total he won 75% (36/48) of his first serves.
“It’s pretty soon to describe my feelings right now,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview. ”I mean, I have no words to describe how I feel.’
“It’s so special for me to win my first Masters 1000 (title) in Miami. I’m so happy with my win and with my team.”
The showdown featured two players taking part in the final of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time in their careers. Alcaraz, who is five years younger than Ruud, started the match visibly nervous. Best illustrated by the fact he hit four forehand unforced errors during his opening service game which he dropped. Meanwhile, Ruud was throwing all he had in his shotmaking and at one point in the opening set was averaging a forehand top spin speed of 92mph as he worked his way to a 4-1 lead.
Spurred on by an animated crowd, the teenager battled back valiantly. With his third break point opportunity in the match, Alcaraz converted with the help of a tight-looking Ruud mis-hit to close the deficit to 4-3 before drawing level. Heading towards the business end of the set, the Spaniard struck once again. At 5-5, a blistering 102mph Alcaraz forehand earned him yet another break point which he converted following an error from his opponent. Then tasked with serving to take the opener, the youngster prevailed on his third set point after hitting a smash at the net.
Historically very few players of Alcaraz’s age have ever found themselves in a similar situation to him. Only his idol Rafael Nadal and Michael Chang has ever won a Masters 1000 title at a younger age than him. Nevertheless, he never appeared to be fazed by the occasion. At the start of the second frame he broke instantly with a masterful lob before producing a love service game to extend his lead over Ruud to a set and 2-0.
Alcaraz’s surge suggested that he would charge towards the finish line but admirbally Ruud continued fighting. Down 0-3, the Norwegian came through a marathon service game to retrieve one of the breaks and soon after took a medical time out for treatment on his hip region.
Resuming the match, Alcaraz refused to relinquish his lead as he worked his way to a game away from the biggest title of his career. A serve out wide returned out by Ruud granted him a trio of championship points. He only needed his first to triumph after hitting a winning backhand volley at the net.
“I knew Casper has a big forehand and I tried to play to his backhand all the time. Trying to not let him dominate the match,” the new champion said of the tactics he used.
In the immediate aftermath of the triumph, Alcaraz wrote ‘Eduardo always with us’ on the camera screen in tribute to the late father of his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero who passed away in recent days. Ferrero returned to Miami only yesterday to surprise the tennis star after driving four hours to Madrid airport in order to get a direct flight. A heartwarming video of the two greeting each other was posted on social media.
Ruud is the fourth seeded player to lose to Alcaraz in Miami. Earlier in the draw, the teenager scored straight sets wins over former US Open champion Marin Cilic, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2021 champion Herbert Hurkacz.
“I want to congratulate Carlos. You’re such a good player already. You’re so young and if you continue like this you will stand here (on the podium) many more times, I’m sure of it,” said Ruud.
“You’re a super nice guy, a hard worker and I wish you and your team all the best.”
Alcaraz, who is the first Spanish player in history to win Miami, will rise to world No.11 when the ATP rankings are updated on Monday. So far this season he has won 18 out of 20 matches played.
