Carlos Alcaraz Garfia writes Challenger history for 2003 generation

Just a day after the Italian Lorenzo Musetti delivered the first Challenger triumph for 2002 generation at Sophia Antipolis event staged by Mouratoglou Academy, the 15-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz Garfia became the first player born in 2003 with a win at this level. In the battle of the youngsters and players who received wild cards, Carlos took down Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in an hour and 50 minutes at Alicante Challenger, organized by Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy. Back in February, Sinner claimed the first Challenger title for 2001 generation in Bergamo and he is one of the best players in his age group, ranked 319th in the world, also winning M25 Santa Margherita Di Pula event on Sunday. 

On the other hand, Carlos Alcaraz Garfia wrote history books a year ago at Spain F5 Futures in Murcia, passing qualifying round and scoring two main draw wins at the age of 14 to become the first player born in 2003 with a pro win. Competing in only the second tournament on pro level this January, Carlos reached the semi-final and also had some excellent junior results in recent weeks, winning J1 Villena yesterday before switching focus to his first Challenger match. Twelve out of 26 games ended up with a break and the Spaniard scored seven from nine chances, suffering five breaks on the other side to cross the finish line first. 

Alcaraz Garfia made the difference with the second serve, making an excellent recovery after that second set to bring the encounter home and deliver the first win at Challenger level. The younger player took charge in the opener, breaking three times in a row and closing the set when Sinner netted a forehand in the eighth game. Jannik had to work much harder to stand a chance against the home player in the rest of the match, earning a break in the third game of the second set when he fired a forehand winner and again for a 4-1 lead, sealing the set with the third break in game nine when Alcaraz Garfia sprayed a forehand error. 

With the momentum on his side, Jannik won eight of the first nine points at the start of the decider, saving a break point in game three to forge a 3-0 lead and move closer to the finish line. Out of sudden, he lost the ground completely, taking just three more points on the return in the rest of the match and suffering three straight breaks, allowing Carlos to rattle off six consecutive games and cross the finish line first. The Spaniard held at love in the fourth game with a forehand winner and broke back a few minutes later when Sinner sent a forehand wide. 

A smash winner pushed Alcaraz Garfia to 3-3 and he moved in front when Jannik hit a double fault in the seventh game, clinching the victory with another break in game nine following another double fault from the Italian. In the second round, the youngster will play against the 8th seed Lukas Rosol and that should be another tough obstacle for him in his first tournament at this level of competition. 

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