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Alcaraz became the first Spanish champion in the tournament’s 52-year history, but he had to work hard for it as De Minaur forced him into his third deciding set of the week.

But the 21-year-old found his rhythm in the decider to secure a 17th ATP Tour title after one hour and 54 minutes.

“This week has been a really good week all together,” Alcaraz said.

“Putting in really good work. Coming here [not] feeling 100 per cent well with the cold but after every day I'm feeling better and better. Rotterdam has been a really special week for me. I was going to say not only for the title… yeah for the title as well, but for the support that I received here since the first day.

"It was the first time that I [was] playing here and you made it like I've been playing this tournament for a long time.”

After falling short in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic last month, Alcaraz is up and running in 2025.

The four-time Major winner's triumph in Rotterdam is his first trophy since defeating rival Jannik Sinner in the Beijing final last October. 

De Minaur, who also lost in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park, to eventual champion Jannik Sinner, had the consolation of moving up to a career high of No.6 in the world rankings, despite missing out on a 10th ATP Tour title here.

“We're pushing for bigger and better things,” De Minaur, who was also beaten by Sinner in last year's final, said.

“It’s been a lot of improvements in my game over the last couple years and I'm going to keep on pushing for more. It's been two years now with this runner-up trophy. I'm hoping I'll get my hand on the winners' one day.”

De Minaur’s serve has been key to his rise over the past year. He won 97 per cent (35/36) of his service games heading into the Rotterdam final, but Alcaraz ultimately proved too strong.