Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz won the title in Rio de Janeiro to make history.
The 18-year-old defeated third seed Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-2 to become the youngest ATP 500 champion since the category was created in 2009.
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“I can’t believe it, honestly. It has been a great week for me playing a great level,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.
WOW @alcarazcarlos03 🤯🔥@RioOpenOficial | #RioOpen pic.twitter.com/btstx1epeu
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 20, 2022
“First tournament on clay since a long time, so I’m really happy with the performance during the whole week. It’s an amazing feeling right now.”
This is the second tour-level title of the teen’s career following his breakthrough in Umag last year.
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Alcaraz earned his first ATP Tour match win as a 16-year-old at the Rio Open two years ago.
When Alcaraz stunned countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Rio de Janeiro two years ago, he was No. 406 in the ATP Rankings.
With his big win Sunday, the teen is projected to climb into the Top 20 for the first time.
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It was an impressive week from Alcaraz, who lost his first set of the tournament on Tuesday against Jaume Munar by a lopsided 6-2 margin. But after that, the Spaniard played sensational tennis to shine on the South American clay.
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Russia’s Andrey Rublev completed a Open 13 Provence double on Sunday as he lifted the doubles trophy with Ukrainian Denys Molchanov just hours after winning the singles title in Marseille.
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The unseeded pair raised their level to rally from a set down, downing second seeds Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 to end their debut week as a team in style.
He had overcome Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-5, 7-6(4) in the singles final to lift his first ATP Tour trophy since March 2021.
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