Carlos Alcaraz was happy after he defeated Alex de Minaur at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam on Sunday. The Spaniard claimed a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win over the Australian to win his maiden indoor title on the tour.

The youngster defeated players like Botic van de Zandschulp, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alex de Minaur to go all the way in the tournament. This is Alcaraz’s 17th career title as he continues to reach new heights in the sport.

“I knew that I [could] play really good tennis on indoor courts, it was just about time,” Alcaraz said. “I had not too much experience playing on indoor courts. There are a lot of players who play better tennis on indoor courts than me, but I am improving and it’s a really important week. I’m just really happy to show the people that I can beat really good players on indoor courts as well. That helps a lot for my confidence.

“It’s special. Every tournament that you win is special, but this one is even more special because it’s on [an] indoor court — my first one.”

Alcaraz said he is working hard to improve a few more aspects of his game on indoor courts and he is confident of taking more steps in the right direction.

“I think it’s [a matter of] time that I’ll get into the top of the rankings of players on indoor court, I’m sure about it,” Alcaraz said. “I have to improve a few things that I was working on, the serve is one of them, I think everybody knows that. I’m not hiding the fact that the players who have big serves and big shots from the baseline are also dangerous but I think I will reach that level for sure.”

The 21-year-old added he played at a very high level and thus was delighted with his performance in the summit clash.

“There were some nerves in the match, some tense situations, but I think it was a really good game,” Alcaraz said when asked of his level. “Most importantly, I stayed strong mentally and focused during the whole match, even if I lost the second set. To come into the third with a strong mentality was pretty good, but I think my game today was high.

“The final is always really difficult because you have to deal with nerves, with the pressure of playing a final. I think I managed it pretty well today. I knew what I had to do since the beginning of the match, but the first round was pretty tough as well.”