Carlos Alcaraz Wins in Barcelona, Achieves Top 9 Ranking

Carlos Alcatraz defeated fellow countryman Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The Rolex Testimonee now won three titles this season, and is projected to climb to No. 9 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, making him the youngest player to crack the Top 10 since Rafael Nadal did it exactly 17 years ago after similarly lifting his first Barcelona trophy.

“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.”

Plenty of Spanish legends have won the Barcelona title, including Rafael Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya. Alcaraz, Nadal and Sunday’s Belgrade champion Andrey Rublev lead the ATP Tour this season with three titles each.