A historic achievement for a Spanish talent on Moroccan soil

Morocco has witnessed a historic achievement by a promising Spanish tennis star.

The newspaper "Marca" reported: "Spanish and international tennis have discovered a new talent in Rafael Khoudar, who, at the age of 19, won his first ATP title on clay at the Marrakech Open 250."

It continued: “No one has ever achieved this feat at such a young age. His victim was the veteran Marco Tronchetti (6-3, 6-2), who had previously achieved a remarkable feat by reaching his first final at the age of 36, particularly as he had qualified through the qualifiers.”

Morocco suits the Spaniards well... Indeed, the list of winners of the tournament, which began in 1984, already includes David de Miguel (1986), Tomás Carbonell (1996), Alberto Martín (1999), Fernando Vicente (2000), Santiago Ventura (2004), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2009), Pablo Andújar (2011, 2012 and 2018), Tommy Robredo (2013), Guillermo García López (2014), and Roberto Carballés (2023).

Goudar became the first Spanish player to lift a trophy, apart from Carlos Alcaraz, since Roberto Bautista’s victory on the Antwerp court.

It had been 542 days since Bautista’s victory, and it seemed like a long time to wait to see someone standing on the top step of the podium alongside the current world number one.

The new king of the Marrakech tournament joins João Fonseca among the winners born in 2006.

He is only the sixth Spaniard to win a title before turning 20, following Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz, Carlos Moya, Ferrero and Robredo.

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