YOUNG GUN HAS SIGHTS SET ON SLAM

TEENAGER Carlos Alcaraz continued his blazing rise by demolishing Alexander Zverev in the Madrid final on Sunday and then said “I really want to prove my level in a grand slam”.

Two weeks before the start of the French Open, the young Spaniard brushed aside his third-ranked foe 6-3, 6-1 in 62 minutes to continue a run that signals tennis has a new power.

“I really want to go to Paris to win a grand slam, to show my level in a grand slam,” said Alcaraz at a press conference after winning the second Masters 1000 of his career.

“People are going to take me as a favourite, but I take that as motivation.”

Alcaraz said he would miss the Rome clay court tournament this week after injuring his ankle in beating Rafael Nadal in the Madrid quarterfinals on Friday.

“It was a little difficult to walk, but … we were able to do a few things to be at 100 per cent for the match,” he said.

Alcaraz, 19, is now ranked No.6 in the world.

He became the youngest US Open quarter-finalist of the Open era last September, then won his first Masters 1000 title in Miami in early April. Victory on Sunday brought a second Masters 1000 title. The only younger player to reach that milestone was Nadal.