Fans of men’s singles tennis have been spoiled over the past decade and a half with the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray battling it out on the court and creating some epic tennis matches. Federer has hung up his racket, while Djokovic (35), Nadal (36), and the injury-plagued Murray (35) are approaching the twilight stages of their illustrious career. Men’s tennis needs a new king to step onto the court. Carlos Alcaraz may be the man to claim the men’s crown and dominate as the legends mentioned above have.
Alcaraz is a phenomenal, generational talent who looks set to blossom into a transcending tennis superstar. He became the youngest player to become world number one and is the youngest Open Era year-end number one, aged a tender 19 years and five months. Tennis experts are comparing Alcaraz to a young Nadal. Alcaraz has the ability to become even greater than his fellow countryman; the sky is the limit for the man from Villena.
Making His Debut as a Fresh-Faced 16-Year-Old
Alcaraz made his ATP debut in February 2020 at the age of 16. He played at the Rio Open but fell in the second round. Alcaraz reached the Round of 16 at the 2021 Australian Open, the Semi-Finals of the ATP Marbella, before winning the 2021 Open de Oeiras III Challenger tournament for his first professional title. The victory gave Alcaraz a taste of success and a desire to win more trophies. He is now one of the most-feared players on tour and one of the best-backed players at OnlineSportsBetting.net.
The young Spaniard finished 2021 ranked 32nd in the world. He goes into 2023 as the world number one after an incredible year that saw Alcaraz show the world what he is capable of despite his young age. It took Alcaraz only two tournaments to get his hands on his first trophy of 2022, winning the Rio Open after defeating Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in the final. He came close to winning the ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, defeating reigning champion Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals before losing to Nadal 46 64 36 in the semi-finals. Alcaraz would later get his revenge on Nadal.
Defeating Legends and First Grand Slam
At the 2022 Miami Open, Alcaraz seeded 14th, defeated Casper Rudd to win his first Masters 1000 title and became the tournament’s youngest-ever men’s champion. Alcaraz won the Barcelona Open and climbed into the top 10 in the rankings. His best performance of the year came in the Madrid Open. Alcaraz beat Nadal in the quarter-finals, then Djokovic in the semi-finals, before a straight sets win over Alexander Zverev clinched the title. He is the first teenager to beat Nadal on clay, the first player to beat Djokovic and Nadal back-to-back on clay, and the Madrid Open’s youngest champion.
The young Spaniard secured his first Grand Slam victory at the US Open in New York. Alcaraz beat Rudd 64 26 76 63 in the final. The rankings points earned propelled Alcaraz to the world’s number one spot at 19 years, four months, and six days, breaking the long-standing record Lleyton Hewitt set in 2001.
There is no more tennis for Alcaraz in 2022, meaning he will be fresh and energized for the 2023 Australian Open in January. To date, his professional record reads 90 wins and 31 losses, which is impressive for someone his age and relatively new to the professional tour. One statistic that stands out from his impressive career dossier is his victories after winning the first set. After winning the first set, Alcaraz has 77 wins and only five defeats (93.9% win rate). The tactic for beating him is to get that first set under your belt. Good luck managing that, against one of the most intense, ruthless and tenacious competitors of the modern era.
ATP · Australian Open · Babolat · Carlos Alcaraz · Nike · Roland Garros · Spain · US Open
Scoop Malinowski · December 21, 2022 at 8:04 am
What Alcaraz does in 2023 will be interesting, he was dynamic for most of 22 but cooled off after US Open. Expectations are huge for next year, we’ll see how he handles the pressure and if he can actually exceed the brilliant performances of 22 in 23, or will he decline? With Djokovic back full time, he may stagnate or go backwards. Going to be interesting.