The Spaniard needed just one hour and two minutes to defeat his German rival.

He also won the Barcelona Open, an ATP 500 event that month, having won his first ATP 500 title at the Rio Open in February.

Speaking after his defeat, twice-former champion here in the Spanish capital, Zverev, said Alcaraz is the “best in the world right now.” He predicted his Spanish rival would go on to be World Number 1, win many Grand Slams and win the Madrid Open many, many times.

Alcaraz dominates in Madrid.

The Spanish player broke Zverev in the first set at 3-2 to go to 4-2, from where he served out to take the set 6-3, dominating his German opponent with blistering baseline play and devastating use of his delicate drop shot.

The second set was a near walk-over, with Alcaraz breaking Zverev three times to claim his first Madrid Open title.

Alcaraz speaks after the victory.

Alcaraz spoke after his win, saying: “Congratulations to everyone who made this tournament possible." It’s very special to me. The first time I came here, I was seven or eight. To be here and to have won is incredible. To my team—I have no words to describe how I feel about you. I started with Juan Carlos when I was 15. There’s a huge amount of work behind it all. The day didn’t start that well today, but we’ve managed to cope with it and overcome the difficulties. To the people of Madrid, from the first round I’ve felt an amazing amount of affection. It’s been an amazing atmosphere. Saying thank you isn’t nearly enough. I’ve always said that with the support of the public, it’s easy to overcome the difficulties—I hope to see you all next year. ”

Asked later what he had been referring to when he said the day had not started that well, Alcaraz explained that his ankle had been swollen in the morning after the injury he picked up against Nadal, and he had also needed to have an infected blister on his foot popped. According to the player, he had been struggling to walk in the morning but was able to play thanks to the efforts of his physio and medical team.

Alcaraz completes a stunning run to take the Madrid title.

The Spanish 19-year-old beat Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the quarter and semi-finals to reach the finals. His win over Nadal was the first time a teenager had ever beaten Nadal on clay; it also ended Nadal’s 25-match win streak against Spaniards.

Alacaraz’s run to the title:

R1: Bye

R2: Basilashvili

R3: Norrie

QF: Nadal

SF: Djokovic

F: Zverev

Alcaraz is currently ranked world number 9, the youngest teenager since Rafa Nadal to break into the top 10 and the first to do so since Scot Andy Murray in 2007.

Madrid Open prize money

Carlos Alcaraz takes home a cheque of €1,041,570 for winning the Madrid Open title, while Zverev gets €568,790 for coming second.