‘It’s amazing,’ says Carlos Alcaraz as he follows in Rafael Nadal’s footsteps by capturing an ATP title at 18

ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz focused

He has been tipped as a future star of Spanish tennis and Carlos Alcaraz gave the world another glimpse of his talent on Sunday as he beat Richard Gasquet to win the Croatia Open title in Umag.

At the age of 18 years, two months and 20 days, Alcaraz became the youngest Spanish champion on the ATP Tour since Rafael Nadal in Sopot in 2004 while he is also the fifth youngest male player to win a title on the highest level since the ATP Tour was launched in 1992.

The teenager dominated the final against veteran Gasquet, breaking twice in each set to win 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 16 minutes on the red clay.

“It’s amazing. I have a lot of emotions. I’m really, really happy with this victory, this win, my first ATP [title],” Alcaraz said. “I’m going to enjoy this moment a lot.”

He beat some quality players en route to the trophy as defeated third seed Filip Krajinovic in the quarter-final and top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the semi-final.

“I had a lot of good moments in this tournament. I beat five great tennis players,” Alcaraz said.

“I think that I grew up a lot in this tournament and I keep a lot of experience from this tournament. It’s going to be useful for the future.”

Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page.

Carlos Alcaraz Richard Gasquet

Latest