Carlos Alcaraz vs Jan Lennard Struff, for the Madrid Masters 1000 final: minute by minute, live

The final touch of the twenty-first edition of the Masters 1000 Madridthe longest and with the greatest participation of those played so far, is in the hands of the reigning champion, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraznumber two in the world, who starts as a great favorite against the German Jan Lennard Struff, lucky loser from the qualifying stage, with whom hardly anyone counted for the title fight. ESPN3 television.

The German, usually distanced from the peak moments of the events, 33 years old and ranked 65 in the ATP rankings, is the first lucky loser of the qualifying round that reaches the final of a Masters 1000 category tournament.

On the field of the Manolo Santana stadium of the Caja Mágica, this Warstein player is playing the second final of his career with the intention of inaugurating a winless record on the ATP circuit.

Struff alternated tournaments on the professional circuit with those of lower rank throughout 2023. Regular in the challengers of this route, he raised his head in the Montecarlo Masters 1000, where he reached the quarterfinals by beating the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the round of 16, four in the standings, only to be eliminated by the Russian Andrey Rublev, eventually champion.

For the fourth time he broke into the Magic Box. In his previous three appearances, he has only played five games. He won two, in the first round of 2018 and 2019 and in 2021 he stalled in the initial stretch. In this 2023, he had to go through the previous phase. He didn’t get his place in the main draw as he lost to Aslan Karatsev, but after a loss in the tournament gave him a second chance, he beat the Russian in the semifinals for his revenge.

“I was very happy to get a second chance. It was my birthday and I lost, but I was lucky to be recovered. It’s a crazy story. I could never have imagined reaching the final after that. It shows that you should never give up and you always have to try.” Now I will play the final with Alcaraz in a great atmosphere and it will be very difficult to beat him. I don’t see the time to play” Struff said.

The German lost the only final he played previously, in Munich in 2021 against Nikoloz Basilashvili. If he beats Alcaraz, he will be the oldest player to win a Masters 1000 for the first time. American John Isner, winner of Miami 2018 at 32, currently holds this record.

It is the third time that Alcaraz and Struff face each other. The German, who dropped out of the top hundred in the world last year after breaking his toe, had to make some merits in minor tournaments. Now he will leave Madrid, worst-case scenario, in 28th place, the best of his career.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, respected the forecasts and reached the final. He wants to keep the title he won last year and join Rafael Nadal as the only two players to have won two trophies in a row in Madrid.

The Murciano, who may be the youngest to successfully defend a Masters 1000 since Nadal, who did so in Monaco in 2005 and 2006, has his tenth career title within reach and fourth this year, after the Indian Master 1000 Wells, Barcelona and Buenos Aires. He could also bring his accumulated trophies in events of this category to four, in which he already shouted champion in Miami and Indian Wells and in the Caja Mágica last year.

Alcaraz has amassed twenty consecutive wins in Spanish tournaments on clay, between Barcelona and Madrid, in the last two seasons. This year he has eighteen victories and only one fall on slow courses; and, counting all surfaces, just two defeats, against the Italian Jannik Sinner in the semifinals in Miami and against the British Cameron Norrie in the final in Rio de Janeiro.

“I haven’t stopped thinking that I’m 20 and just getting started. But I’ve struggled to be in this condition, this is what I’ve always wanted. I’m not dizzy from what I’ve already experienced or what I have left to live” , secured the world number two. “I’m having fun with my team, my family and my friends, we’re quite a large group. Enjoying the victories is essential, getting out on the track and savoring the victories,” she added.

The Spanish tennis player, who will travel to Paris on Monday for the Laureus Awards where he is named “Revelation of the Year”, is aiming for number one in the world. He was once the youngest to reach the top of the circuit when he won the US Open and the youngest to end a season in that position. Now, from second place in the standings, the calculations favor him. If he beats Struff, losing again in the first round at the Masters 1000 in Rome, which will be played from Wednesday, he will regain the top. And he will arrive at Roland Garros in that position.

Alcaraz plays in the Caja Mágica for the title for the second consecutive time. 2022 was his consecration, with consecutive victories against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Now he faces the challenge of consolidation in the fourth Masters 1000 final of his career. The previous three won.