BARCELONA/STARNBERG, April 24, 2022
Spanish teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz has clinched the title of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The No. 5 seed of the ATP 500 clay-court event defeated his compatriot, practice partner at the JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy and tournament’s eighth seed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday afternoon.
In front of packed stands on Pista Rafa Nadal, Alcaraz won 88 per cent of his first-service points and capitalized on four of his 10 break-point chances to prevail after one hour and five minutes.
The moment @alcarazcarlos03 overcame Carreño Busta in Barcelona to win his third title of the season…#BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/YAavIVFG9x
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 24, 2022
“It means a lot. I’ve watched this tournament since I was a kid. I always wished to play in this tournament and of course to be able to win this tournament,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “I’m really, really happy to be part of the [historic] Spanish list.”
Earlier in the day, the semi-final matches were played, as they were pushed to Sunday because of rain. Alcaraz needed three hours and 40 minutes to defeat Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the longest best-of-three match of the season. Carreno Busta defeated Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 39 minutes.
By winning his fourth ATP Tour career trophy, his third of the season, the 18-year-old Murcia native earned €467,150 in prize money as well as 500 ATP Ranking points. Alcaraz is projected to crack the Top 10 on Monday.
La tradició del #BCNOpenBS@atptour | @ATPTour_ES | @alcarazcarlos03 pic.twitter.com/RfHzknHzkf
— Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (@bcnopenbs) April 24, 2022
“Kramies” lift doubles trophies
In other action, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies triumphed in the doubles competition. The all-German duo fought past Wesly Koolhof from the Netherlands and Neal Skupski of Great Britain 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 10-6. The encounter lasted two hours and 27 minutes.
The “Kramies” reunited at the start of the season after Mies missed most of 2021 following knee surgery. They have clinched their first title together since successfully defending their Roland-Garros crown in 2020.
Back in the winner’s circle 🏆
Kevin Krawietz & Andreas Mies clinch the Barcelona title!#BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/rVqde0xwc0
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 24, 2022
“It feels amazing,” said Mies. “It’s been a long time since we won our last title, the end of 2020, and I was injured all of last year, so I couldn’t be more relieved right now.”
Krawietz added: “In doubles it’s always tight with a Match Tie-break to stay mentally strong. We played not so well sometimes, but in the tournament we were mentally good, so we are happy to have managed the matches and of course we are very happy to win the tournament here in Barcelona.”
