Malik Waqar
Carlos Alcaraz said Sunday that he had not missed Jannik Sinner at this week’s Rotterdam Open, seizing on the world number one’s absence to clinch his first indoor title.
Sinner pulled out at the last moment from the Rotterdam draw after triumphing at last month’s Australian Open.
Asked if he had missed his Italian rival after overpowering Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in Sunday’s final, Alcaraz quipped: “Not really!”
“Now that I’m holding the trophy, I’m going to say that I didn’t miss him in the tournament,” he added.
“It could have been great having him and me in the same tournament. Probably we could have played a great final,” said the 21-year-old.
In the actual final, world number three Alcaraz had too much weight of shot off both flanks for De Minaur, who retrieved valiantly but lacked the weapons to topple the top seed.
“This week has been a really good week,” said Alcaraz.
“I came here not feeling 100-percent well with a cold but every day I felt better and better,” added the Spaniard, who wore a nose-clip all week to help him breathe easier.
‘I’ve got something’
Alcaraz was first to seize the initiative, breaking De Minaur’s serve in the third game, helped by a double-fault and some ferocious groundstrokes.
But the Australian, ranked eighth in the world, struck back, breaking to love in the seventh game to bring the set back on serve at 4-4.
An ill-judged drop shot at 0-30 down in the next game put the pressure back on De Minaur and Alcaraz produced a powerful backhand pass to give himself a chance to serve out the set.
The Spaniard secured the opener at the first time of asking, De Minaur netting a forehand return and giving himself an uphill battle to get back into the match.
The second set saw a shift in momentum as De Minaur managed an early break of his own and raced into a 3-0 lead.
De Minaur squandered two chances at a second break but clung on to his serve to give himself an opportunity to close out the set.
He levelled up the match, as Alcaraz dumped a backhand into the net, having smashed two wild forehands long out of court earlier in the game.
The decisive set went with serve until the sixth game when Alcaraz got his nose in front, breaking the Australian’s serve with a drop shot that De Minaur pushed wide.
De Minaur served to stay in the match at 5-2 down but hit a catastrophic double-fault to give Alcaraz two match points.
He then pushed a tired-looking backhand into the net to give Alcaraz victory and a 17th tour title, the Spaniard roaring “vamos” as the crowd rose to its feet.
For De Minaur, it was a case of deja vu, as he lost in the final last year as well to Sinner.
“It’s been two years with this runner-up trophy. I’m hoping I’ll get my hand on the winners’ one day,” said the Australian.
Speaking to reporters after the match, De Minaur revealed he had also been struggling with illness.
“I’m just looking forward to getting into bed and hopefully getting some rest,” he said.
“I don’t need excuses, I go out there, compete, I tried my best, wasn’t enough today.”
