Holger Rune ended Carlos Alcaraz’s nine-match clay-court winning streak in the final of the Barcelona Open on Sunday, defeating the Spaniard, 7-6 (6), 6-2, to capture the title at the ATP 500 event.
It was the fifth ATP title of the 21-year-old Dane’s career, and—perhaps surprisingly—his first ATP title in almost exactly two years, since winning on the clay of Munich on April 23rd, 2003.
“Thanks to my mom, thanks to my team, thanks to everyone for being here. It’s an amazing feeling,” he said at the trophy ceremony.
“It’s been a while, so thank you guys for being here.”
Rune also had kind words for Alcaraz.
“I want to say congrats to you, not just for this week, but for Monaco,” he told the Spaniard. “I watched you win, and you’re doing something truly amazing for tennis, and sport as well.”
Alcaraz had been on a nine-match winning streak on clay, capturing the sixth Masters 1000 title of his career in Monte Carlo last week, then storming into another final in Barcelona this week.
And it looked like that run would continue against Rune on Sunday after Alcaraz got the first break of the match for a 3-2 lead in the first set, but the Dane broke right back for 3-all, eventually snuck out the first set in a tie-break, then won the last five games in a row from 1-2 in the second set to lift his first ATP trophy since he was a teenager.
