Alcaraz wins final in Barcelona for 3rd title of the season

BARCELONA. Spain –

Carlos Alcaraz, the teenage sensation, beat Pablo Carreno Busta straight sets to win Sunday’s Barcelona Open final for his third title.

Alcaraz, 18, won the all-Spanish match with 6-3,6-2. He had reached the final just hours earlier due to rain delays.

Alcaraz will earn a place in the top 10 when the new rankings go out on Monday. Rafael Nadal was his tennis hero and Alcaraz won the Barcelona Open at the age of 18 to reach the top 10.

Alcaraz won at Barcelona’s Rafa Nadal centre court, ending a long day that saw them defeat Alex de Minaur 7-6 (4) and 6-4 respectively.

Carreno Busta (aged 30) was ranked 19th. He is seeking his seventh title on tour. In his semifinal Sunday, he beat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3 and 6-4.

Alcaraz broke serve twice each set to cruise to victory.

Alcaraz was awarded titles at Rio de Janeiro, February, and Miami, earlier in the month. He won his first tour title at Umag in last year.

Alcaraz, who was ranked 11th in the world after Nadal’s 2005 Barcelona title win, came in as Nadal’s 11th-ranked player. Nadal, a 21-time Grand Slam winner, has never been out of the top 10.

Rain stricken the outdoor clay-court tournament at Barcelona for all of this week. Both semifinals were tied at 2-2 in Saturday’s first set.