Alex de Minaur Falls Short Against Carlos Alcaraz in Rotterdam Final but Wins Over the Crowd
Carlos Alcaraz claimed his first-ever indoor title with a hard-fought victory over Alex de Minaur in the Rotterdam Open final, prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in an intense battle. Despite the loss, the Australian walked away with plenty of positives, including a new career-high ATP ranking of No. 6, surpassing both Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev in the standings.
De Minaur Proves His Place Among the Elite
De Minaur, now ranked world No. 6, continues to establish himself as a genuine threat at the top of the sport. He showed incredible resilience, especially in the second set, where he outplayed Alcaraz to force a decider. However, when the Spaniard raised his level in the third, De Minaur had no answers.
The final set remained on serve until the sixth game, where Alcaraz broke with a perfectly executed drop shot, leaving De Minaur scrambling. At 5-2 down, the Australian faltered, hitting a double fault to hand Alcaraz two championship points. A tired-looking backhand into the net sealed his fate, as Alcaraz erupted with a triumphant “Vamos!”
Deja Vu in Rotterdam
For De Minaur, the loss was painfully familiar—he finished runner-up in Rotterdam for the second consecutive year, having fallen to Jannik Sinner in the 2024 final. However, he took the defeat in stride, delivering a gracious and heartfelt runner-up speech:
“To my team, they’ve been there from the very beginning. We are pushing for bigger and better things. We’ve made great improvements. Everyone here and everyone back home—family and friends—it’s been a lot of progress in my game. I’ll keep pushing for more.”
After a brief grimace, he added with a smile:
“Two years with this runner-up trophy… Hopefully, one day, I’ll get my hands on the winner’s one.”
Fighting Through Illness
In his post-match press conference, De Minaur revealed a secret struggle—he had been battling illness throughout the tournament, much like Alcaraz, who played the event wearing a nose clip to aid his breathing.
“I’m just looking forward to getting into bed and hopefully getting some rest,” he admitted.
“I don’t need excuses. I went out there, competed, tried my best—it just wasn’t enough today.”
De Minaur Praises Alcaraz
Despite the tough loss, De Minaur was all class, paying tribute to his opponent:
“Carlos, congratulations, man. Too good again—you and your whole team. You’re an incredible person. We’ve known each other a long time, and we always have fun battles. I really enjoyed myself on the court today.”
Alcaraz Makes History
With this victory, Carlos Alcaraz achieved yet another historic milestone, becoming the youngest player ever to win titles on clay, grass, outdoor hard courts, and indoor hard courts.
“This week has been a really good week,” said the world No. 3.
“I came here not feeling 100% with a cold, but every day I felt better and better.”
His ability to adapt and excel across all surfaces further cements his status as one of the most complete players in the game.
While Alcaraz walked away with his 17th career title, De Minaur gained something invaluable—the respect of fans and fellow players, proving that his rise to the sport’s top tier is anything but temporary.
