The world number one tennis player, Carlos Alcaraz, will defend his title in the Barcelona Tournament. The tournament will be held from April 15 to 23, organizers announced Wednesday.
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The 19-year-old Spanish tennis player had won his first Barcelona Tournament title last year. He beat his compatriot Pablo Carreno in the final by a resounding 6-3, 6-2. "Alcaraz is the first player to have confirmed his participation for the next edition of the tournament." The tournament organizers said in a press release.
Alcaraz, trained by Juan Carlos Ferrero, completed a dream 2022 season that raised him to number one in the ATP ranking. He is the youngest tennis player to do so since this ranking began in 1973. Moreover, he played a total of 17 tournaments which include Barcelona, Madrid, Miami, Rio de Janeiro, and the US Open. And among them, he won five titles. It was his third of five titles in 2022, with the pinnacle being the US Open.
The sporting director of the tournament, David Ferrer, congratulated himself on being able to count once again in the Barcelona tournament. He said, "Carlos Alcaraz is a unique player, with a lot of charisma and who also has fun on the court. We are talking about a world number one who has been the youngest player in history to achieve it. He still has a whole career ahead of him to keep improving and growing as a player. He will be the great dominator of the circuit for the next 10 years, without a doubt."
Meanwhile, in recent years, the Barcelona Open has served as a springboard to discover emerging stars. The stars include Russian Daniil Medvedev or the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas who starred in the finals held in 2018, 2019, and 2021.