The 5 players to beat Carlos Alcaraz in a final: Novak Djokovic the only man to do it twice, Holger Rune joins list
Carlos Alcaraz’s loss to Holger Rune in the 2025 Barcelona Open final was a rare defeat in a match with a trophy on the line for the Spaniard.
The 21-year-old superstar holds an outstanding 18-6 (75%) record in finals, with his defeats coming against five different opponents.
Here, we look at the players who have gotten the better of Alcaraz in a championship match.
Lorenzo Musetti – 2022 Hamburg Open
Carlos Alcaraz won his first five ATP finals before he met Lorenzo Musetti in the title match at the 2022 Hamburg Open.
An unseeded Musetti upset Alcaraz, who was the top seed, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 in the final of the post-Wimbledon clay-court ATP 500 event. It was the Italian’s maiden ATP Tour title.
Jannik Sinner – 2022 Croatia Open
After his defeat to Musetti in Hamburg, Alcaraz faced another Italian in the final of his next tournament — the 2022 Croatia Open in Umag.
The championship match at the clay-court ATP 250 saw No 1 seed Alcaraz fall 7-6(5), 1-6, 1-6 to his rival Jannik Sinner — who was seeded second.
Alcaraz has not lost back-to-back finals since these defeats in Hamburg and Umag.
Cameron Norrie – 2023 Rio Open
Alcaraz reached his 10th final at the 2023 Rio Open and faced Cameron Norrie, who he had seen off in the Buenos Aires title match the previous week.
No 2 seed Norrie gained his revenge on the Brazilian clay as he downed the top seed 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in the ATP 500 final.
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Novak Djokovic – 2023 Cincinnati Open and 2024 Paris Olympics
Novak Djokovic is the only player to defeat Alcaraz in multiple finals, with the head-to-head record between the pair in championship matches locked at 2-2.
Alcaraz’s only loss in his seven hard-court finals came at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters, where Djokovic prevailed 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) in an epic three-hour-and-49-minute contest after saving a match point.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Serbian dealt Alcaraz another heartbreaking defeat as he delivered a stunning performance to earn a 7-6(3), 7-6(2) victory in a pulsating gold medal match at Stade Roland Garros.
Holger Rune – 2025 Barcelona Open
Holger Rune became the fifth man to beat Alcaraz in a clay-court final and third to overcome the Spaniard in a ATP 500 title match with his triumph at the 2025 Barcelona Open.
The sixth-seeded Dane prevailed 7-6(6), 6-2 over Alcaraz to deny the No 1 seed a third Barcelona Open crown and also end his 14-match unbeaten run at the event.
Rune, who claimed his first title in two years, also snapped Alcaraz’s nine-match winning streak after the Spaniard had won the 2025 Monte Carlo Masters title.
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