Carlos Alcaraz beat Sebastian Korda 4-3 (7-5) 4-2 4-2 to win the title at the Intesa San Paolo Next Gen Finals at the Allianz Cloud in Milan following in the footsteps of Hyeon Chung, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner, who won the first three editions
Alcaraz dropped just one set en route to the Next Gen title as he beat Holger Rune, Brandon Nakashima and Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the round robin group and Sebastian Baez in the semifinal.
Korda was unable to convert any of his five break points, as Alcaraz held his service games to force a tie-break. Alcaraz won both points on Korda’s serve from 4-5 down in the tie-break before closing out the first set with a forehand volley winner.
“It is amazing. To be able to win this tournament means a lot for me. I am so excited right now and emotional. I was very nervous at the start. I had to be calm to save the break points. I know Korda is serving very well, so I had to play my best in those moments”, said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz did not face a break point in the second set and sealed it with one of his four aces.
Alcaraz earned two championships points in the fifth game of the third set, but he was not able to convert them. In the sixth game Alcaraz went down 0-30 on his serve, but he won four consecutive points to seal the win.
“It went 0-30 on my serve when serving for the match. So I had to be focused in that moment and I had to stay calm to save the break points. It was really tough. I know Korrda is serving very well, so I had to play my best in those moments”, said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz is the youngest player to earn 32-tour match wins in a season since 1992 when Medvedev went 32-11. The Spanish player coached by Juan Carlos Ferrero won his firts ATP title in Umag. He beat Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to reach the quarter final at the US Open. Last month he beat Andy Muray and Matteo Berrettini en route to the semifinal in Vienna and Jannik Sinner to reach the quarter final in Paris Bercy.
“I thank Ferrero for his support. Without him I would not achieved these results”, said Alcaraz. Korda also enjoyed a successful season in which he won his first ATP title in Parma and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, the quarter final in Miami and the final in Delray Beach.
