"Giant pablito; A great partner and friend, many congratulations" - Carlos Alcaraz and Diego Schwartzman celebrate Pablo Carreno Busta's maiden Masters 1000 title at Canadian Open
Pablo Carreno Busta received congratulatory messages from fellow players Carlos Alcaraz and Diego Schwartzman on social media as the Spaniard was crowned a Masters 1000 champion for the first time.
Carreno Busta prevailed over Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to take the 2022 Canadian Open title, giving the 31-year-old a first taste of glory at the Masters 1000 level after 52 attempts.
Alcaraz lauded his compatriot through two posts on Twitter.
"Pablo!!!! Congratulations and more than deserved! Happy for you!" wrote Carlos Alcaraz.
🏻 Enhorabuena y más que merecido! Feliz por ti! 🤜🏻🤛🏻 @pablocarreno91 twitter.com/atptour/status…
Pablo!!!! 🙌🏻 Enhorabuena y más que merecido! Feliz por ti! 🤜🏻🤛🏻 @pablocarreno91 twitter.com/atptour/status…
The nineteen-year-old also posted a photo of Carreno Busta hoisting his trophy, with emojis of a smiling face with heart eyes and a trophy as caption.
😍🏆 @pablocarreno91 https://t.co/jYPVzuYXE8
A fan responded to the tweet with a photo of Alcaraz and Carreno Busta, with both players holding the latter's bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
@carlosalcaraz @pablocarreno91 Leyendas! https://t.co/2wOhqfLn8B
Argentinian Diego Schwartzman also greeted Carreno Busta on Twitter.
"Giant Pablito. A great partner / friend who gave me tennis since I was little. Congratulations," said Diego Schwartzman.
🥇
Gigante pablito. Un gran compañero / amigo que me dio el tenis desde chiquitos. Muchas felicidades 🍿🔥🎾🥇 https://t.co/uTTR3TEobM
Carreno Busta's title in Montreal is his fourth on hardcourts and the seventh overall in his career. His Olympic bronze medal also came on the hardcourts of Tokyo. His win at the Canadian Open pushed him nine places up to No. 14 in the ATP world rankings.
If at first you don't succeed, try again 🏆
@pablocarreno91 is a Masters 1000 champion after 52 attempts!
#OBN22 https://t.co/jtfqoDulL0
"When I was young, I practice all the time in this surface so I feel very comfortable" - Pablo Carreno Busta
Pablo Carreno Busta is enjoying plenty of success on hardcourts. While Spaniards are commonly associated with claycourt prowess, Carreno Busta showed that players from their side of the world are multi-faceted. His trophies on the hardcourts outnumber his three titles on the red dirt.
In his post-match press conference, the Spaniard shed light on his proficiency on the surface, saying that he grew up playing on hardcourts in his hometown of Gijon before starting the transition to clay in Barcelona when he was 15.
"I grew up on this surface, on these courts, when I was at my hometown in Gijon. When I was young, I practice all the time in this surface so I feel very comfortable," Pablo Carreno Busta said.
"It's true that when I went to Barcelona when I was 15, I started to play more on clay courts. So that's why I play on both surfaces well, I think," he added.
POINT 👏 OF 👏 THE 👏 TOURNAMENT 👏
Magnifique in Montreal ✨
@pablocarreno91 #OBN22 https://t.co/5ocsdozLyo
The two-time US Open semifinalist also said that he feels comfortable playing during the North American hardcourt swing.
"But it is true that in this part of the year, in August, when I come to America, to Canada and U.S., I feel really, really comfortable on court. Probably I make my best tennis here," Carreno Busta stated.
After snatching the biggest win of his career at the age of 31, 13 years after he turned pro, Carreno Busta knows that he needs to enjoy the sport he loves given the uncertainty of how many years he has left in his career.
"I know in this moment of my career with 31 years old, I just need to enjoy, no? Probably I have few more years, I don't know, three, four, five, six, hope to be more but we don't know, so I have to enjoy a lot," he said.