After initial difficulties, shooting star Carlos Alcaraz reached the final of the tennis tournament at Rothenbaum in Hamburg. The 19-year-old Spaniard defeated the Slovenian Alex Molcan 7: 6 (7: 2), 6: 1 and will play against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who is only one year older, for his fifth title of 2022.
The top seeded Alcaraz initially had more trouble than expected on the Hamburger Asche. In the hard-fought first set with four breaks in a row he needed the tie break, in the second he didn’t give Molcan a chance. The teenager has thus won all of his 13 matches this season in ATP 500 tournaments, which include Hamburg.
Musetti is meanwhile in a final of the ATP tour for the first time in his career. The number 62 in the world defeated Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina) 6: 3, 7: 6 (7: 3). “It means a lot to me,” said the 20-year-old. For Alcaraz and Musetti it will be the first meeting on the tour.
Teenager Alcaraz is contesting an ATP tournament in Germany for the first time in Hamburg. So far this year, the youngster has triumphed at the Masters tournaments in Miami and Madrid, as well as in Rio and Barcelona. He has yet to lose any of the five ATP finals of his career.