Spanish raising star Carlos Alcaraz came out on top in the championship match at the Allianz Cloud stadium, downing American Sebastian Korda in three sets 4-3(5), 4-2, 4-2 after one hour and 23 minutes.
Following the footsteps of Italian Jannik Sinner (2019), Alcaraz became the second consecutive 18-year-old to clinch the title at the 21-and-under event.
In his on-court interview, he commented: “It is amazing. To be able to win this tournament means a lot to me. I am so excited right now and emotional.”
“I was very, very nervous at the start. I had to be calm to save the breakpoints. I know Korda is serving very well, so I had to play my best in those moments.”
The 2021 Next Gen champion concludes his breakthrough season in style, improving to an impressive record of 32 victories on Tour.
On Saturday, the players hit the court with both taking unbeaten 4-0 records into the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals championship match.
A close first set saw Korda, who earned his maiden ATP title on Italian soil in May at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, displaying an emphatic serve, winning 92% of his first-service points, and 30 percent with his second.
However, the 21-year-old could not halt the Spaniard, who prevailed in the tiebreak, to close up 4-3(5) in 33 minutes, saving five break points in the process.
Furthermore, the 18-year-old hit five winners, eight unforced errors, winning 67 percent of his first-service points, 38 percent with his second.
In the second set, he raised his game, producing an early break over his adversary serve to lead 2-1.
Continuing to move forward while playing with great intensity, he extended his advantage by claiming victory 4-2, winning 89 percent of his first-service points to his rival 75 percent, having not faced a breakpoint in the set.
A third high-quality set soon got underway at the indoor courts.
Showcasing a solid game, Alcaraz recorded a second break over Korda’s serve at 2-1 - a gap the World No. 39 efforts would fail to narrow.
The youngest U.S. Open quarterfinalist in the Open Era sealed his triumph in Milan after converting a championship point on his serve to win the contest.
“It went 0/30 on my serve [when serving for the match],” the Spanish player added. “So I had to be focused in that moment, and I had to stay calm. It was really, really tough.”
Overall, the World No. 32 fired 17 winners, recording 15 unforced errors to Korda’s 12 and 18, respectively.
Throughout his campaign at the tournament, the Murcia native toppled Holger Rune, Brandon Nakashima, and Juan Manuel Cerundolo before outlasting Argentine Sebastian Baez in the semifinals.
For his part, the Miami Open quarterfinalist booked his ticket into the event’s final after defeating countryman Nakashima 4-3(3) 2-4, 1-4, 4-2, 4-2 on Friday.
Previously, he moved past Frenchman Hugo Gaston, Baez, and local favorite Lorenzo Musetti.