VILLENA, October 18, 2020
Spanish teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz has joined the group of Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro, Richard Gasquet and Felix Auger-Aliassime as the only players aged 17 and under to lift three trophies on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 17-year-old won the 2020 Alicante Ferrero Challenger held at the Club de Tenis Juan Carlos Ferrero de Villena. Alcaraz defeated compatriot Pedro Martinez Portero 7-6(6), 6-3 on a sunny Sunday morning in the Valencian Community.
The Murcia native advanced to the championship match with a couple of hard-fought wins over Ramkumar Ramanathan of India, No. 6 seed Daniel Elahi Galan from Chile, Argentine Juan Pablo Ficovich and fellow Spaniard as well as practice partner Mario Vilella Martinez.
Alcaraz, who trains at the JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy and is under the tutelage of the former World No. 1, showed all of his class in the final. Alcaraz capitalized on four of his six break-point opportunities to secure victory in one hour and 43 minutes.
CHAMPION 🏆@alcarazcarlos03 cannot be stopped! The 🇪🇸 takes the title on home soil in Alicante, his third #ATPChallenger crown of 2020.@EqueliteFerrero | @LaLigaSportsTV pic.twitter.com/h4ZZUNyGfI
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 18, 2020
“It’s been another great week,” said Alcaraz, quoted by the ATP Challenger website. “I wanted to improve physically this year and it’s showing on the court. I am happy to play well at this tournament, at home, and I’ve been motivated for this for a long time. To play in front of my people is a great joy. It is also a motivation to do well in front of everyone that has been supporting me for so long.
“It was a great match. Pedro is an amazing player and we both played at a high level. It makes me proud to play like this at home and in front of everyone I know. I’m very happy and this is motivation to continue fighting for more.”
One week ago, Alcaraz clinched the second title of his young career at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona following his maiden triumph in Trieste, Italy in August. The current World No. 158 pocketed €6,190 in prize money as well as 80 ATP Ranking points and will crack the Top 150 for the first time in his career on Monday.
On Saturday, Enzo Couacoud and Albano Olivetti took the doubles title. The unseeded Frenchmen edged past Spanish wild card entries Inigo Cervantes and Oriol Roca Batalla 4-6, 6-4, 10-2. The encounter lasted one hour and 27 minutes.
