Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man to ever reach No. 1 in the world on Monday after capturing the U.S. Open title. Sunday’s 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-3 triumph over Casper Ruud also made the 19-year-old the second-youngest men’s singles champion in tournament history behind only Pete Sampras.
Having already achieved so much at such a young age, expectations for Alcaraz are obviously through the roof. The Spaniard is eager to live up to them.
“I’m hungry for more,” Alcaraz assured. “I want to be [at] the top for many, many weeks–[hopefully] many years. I’m going to work hard again after this week–these amazing two weeks. I’m going to fight [to] have more of this.”
Although this is his first Grand Slam title, Alcaraz had already won a 500-point tournament (Rio de Janeiro) and two Masters 1000s (Miami and Madrid) this season. He was the youngest to lift a 500 trophy and the second-youngest behind Rafael Nadal to secure multiple Masters 1000 titles. All of those results combined with the U.S. Open success and second-week appearances at Roland Garros and Wimbledon have propelled the teenager to No. 1.
“It’s crazy for me,” he said. “I never thought that I was going to achieve something like that at 19 years old. So everything came so fast. For me it’s unbelievable. It’s something I [dreamt of] since I was a kid–since I started playing tennis.”
Alcaraz climbed from fourth in the rankings, passing No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, No. 2 Alexander Zverev, and the third-ranked Nadal. Ruud soared from seventh to second. Sunday’s championship match was a winner-take-all showdown not only for the U.S. Open title but also for the top ranking. After Nadal lost to Frances Tiafoe, the 36-year-old needed both Alcaraz and Ruud to lose prior to the final in order for him to regain the No. 1 spot. Neither one did.
Now it’s Alcaraz who is ahead–in the rankings, at least. He is 21 short of Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam title list.
“I’ll always be proud when Rafa wins Grand Slams, and obviously if I lose at a Grand Slam I’ll always be supporting a Spaniard,” Alcaraz noted. “I’ve won one. I don’t feel closer; I’ve got 21 to go. For now, I’m going to think about trying to get the second, which very few people have managed. That’s my goal.”
Needless to say, it’s only a matter of time.
how many slams will he win?
I’d say double figures, but it’s difficult to predict and depends on how Sinner/Ruud/etc step up. Chasing someone certainly seems to improve your game, if you’re up for the challenge of course. Some hopefuls seem to fade away, or perhaps weren’t good enough anyway. I’m thinking of Dimi in particular but the juries out on Stephanos.
Med hasn’t recovered from losing the AO but he is a force on hard courts and can win many more majors on the surface.Zverev dismantled Alcaraz at Rg. He is only 25 and if he plays like he did that tournament he will win multiple slams.
Sinner will progress with Cahill.
In other words, there are numerous players who can beat Alcaraz. Way too soon to see how he handles winning a slam and the pressure. Look wh a t happened to Dom!
There are so many intangibles and then there is always, as happened to Delpo, after winning the USO the threat of injury.
This time last year some people were saying Raducanu was going to dominate the tour this year which was the exact opposite of what happened. I know that’s not a great comparison in some ways because Carlitos has won masters but the hype from some sources was just the same.
One thing is for sure and that is the era of the Big 3 won’t be repeated. Most likely never.
amy,
Thanks for a great post! I so appreciate the perspective you bring to this discussion. I cannot understand why people seem to have forgotten about Med. He beat Novak at the USO last year. None of the younger generation has been able to beat the big three. Then he got to the final of the AO this year. I think the loss to Rafa had to be devastating. Then he had an injury and never seemed to regain his form. But he is not going anywhere. I heard some disturbing news about Zverev’s return from his injury. I think it has been postponed.
Sinner is going to be a real threat. Felix has not played well lately, but he is young. Berrettini has not played well but he had injuries. I hope he can regroup and find his best form. Tsitsipas is in some real trouble. I think it was Mona who says he may be suffering from burnout. That is definitely possible. He is going in the wrong direction and much was expected of him.
I thought Thiem would be the one to break out. He won a slam, even though he did not beat one of the big three. He was in the semi and final of RG. It seemed only a matter of time before he won RG. But that terrible wrist injury has taken a terrible toll. He is not the same player. Delpo is a player whose career was derailed by injuries.
But in a time when many are writing the obituary of the big three, this year two of them won three slams. Rafa got two and Novak got one. So they still dominated. It seems that people have forgotten what Rafa did this year. He made history by winning another two slams, 14 RG titles. That should not be overlooked. To do it at 36, battling injuries all the way, was a supreme achievement.
While people celebrate Alcaraz winning the USO and becoming the youngest no. 1, what Rafa did should not be forgotten. He has already proven his greatness. This year only added to it. Alcaraz has his career ahead of him. He has made a great start. Now we have to see what happens with him. Rafa’s career speaks for itself.
I should make a correction. None of the younger generation has been able to beat the big three in slams!
Oh and the hype over Alcaraz continues!!! Sigh!!!
When Rafa won his first slam (on clay) they were predicting that he couldn’t win on any other surface definitely not on grass, blah, blah, blah!! But this kid wins his first slam, was two points from being knocked out by Sinner and suddenly he is the next greatest thing!! Yawn!!
Mona,
Yes I remember that so well! Rafa would never win a hardcourt slam. Forget about beating Fed at Wimbledon. Just a clay court specialist.
But he proved them all wrong, didn’t he! 😀
A tweet from Cheryl:
“Just to offer a little perspective..in 2005, the year Rafa won the French at age 19, he won TEN other events and it still wasn’t enough to grab the no. 1 ranking from Federer.
#Fedal. ”
Spot on by Cheryl.
Thank you! Also thanks to Cheryl for adding g some much needed perspective! Fed in his prime was unbeatable. Until Rafa came along! Rafa did not beat someone like Ruud. He beat the best. It would take a match for the ages for Rafa to finally beat him at Wimbledon and get the No.1 ranking.
Thought you would appreciate that nny!!
All hail Cheryl!😀
Points needed to get the #1 ranking:
Federer 9,825
Nadal 11,595
Djokovic 13,285
Alcaraz 6,740. Spot the difference!! Alcaraz has the lowest number of ranking points ever in the modern era to get to #1.
If you look at the race where Alcaraz is now no 1 and add on wimby ranking points then Rafa is only around 100 points behind him.
Novak goes up to 5. Given Rafa and Novak have hardly played this year this does give you some idea of how few points the other players have amassed during the year.
In other words this changing of the guard rhetoric is baloney. If that really were true they should be way out in front.
Novak has missed 8 thousand ranking points on hard courts this year. Rafa has missed great chunks of time and although he won RG he hardly played any of the clay court events a time when he normally amasses loads of points.
I’ve just seen a video put out by Tennis tv where the players (Novak, Rafa, Andy, Zverev, Rublev, Sinner)go on for ages about how great Alcaraz is.
Has this ever happened before? Eg a video is made to celebrate a player who hasn’t retired. Can’t think of one.
Starting to get way way over the top imo.
Relax, folks. Tennis is desperate for young winners. The current legends can’t last forever! Fed’s got major knee problems. Rafa’s picked up three disabling injuries along with his two slams, Wimbly semi, a 500 and runner up to a Master’s. Djokovic has opted to sit out Davis Cup for “personal reasons”, which he obviously wishes not to elaborate. Murray can’t string more than two wins together. Thiem is currently nowhere with his comeback. Incidentally all four are over 35! Tsitsipas, Shapo and Meddy are all pretty much disaster areas at present.
I suppose the tennis commies *could* be talking about Tiafoe showing much better play than usual, Sinner competing very well v Alcaraz and Ruud coming to life on hard courts but they all lost at the USO. Recency bias, folks!
He is a great player who most likely will win many Slams, get over it.
The Big Three were great, but why keep comparing everything to them?
Hey who is doing the comparing? Who started it? JMac and Chris Fowler! Hello! They made the comparison between Alcarazand 19 year old Rafa. We just continued that comparison.
Oh sorry to burst anyone’s bubble! I forgot about the hype!
Okay here we go!
Alcaraz is Jesus Christ! He can walk on water! He can destroy opponents at will, like Superman! He will remain no. 1 and beat everyone at all slams! He will obliterate the records of the big three! Who cares about them anyway! He has the game that encompasses the big three. Oh, that one really gets me. 😨
There you have it! Wretched excess and hyperbole at its worst! Forget about what came before!
No, YOU get over it!
Well it’s still possible Alcaraz will win many Slams , would that be a bad thing? Maybe you should just calm down
I shouldn’t say that I’m surprised, it’s rather unpleasant to see so many people becoming resistant to change.
Alcaraz being successful doesn’t mean denying Rafa’s greatness. Here’s your egos fighting to preserve his greatness. There is enough pie for everyone.
He’s different from Dimi, Thiem (no matter how much I like and respect him).
He’s got the DNA of a great champion similar to the top 3.
To answer your question. My opinion: 2 digits for sure.
I don’t have any problem with the notion that Alcaraz is a great player and will win many titles.
It’s the commentators and networks who have hyped him as bigger than the big 3! They have explicitly done this ie the graphic one of them came out with before RG in which the big 3 were displayed with descriptive attributes and Alcaraz was raised above them as transcending them all.
Then this new video, made before he won the USO, with all the players coerced into making laudatory comments. Has this ever happened before about any player? This normally happens when someone retires. I certainly can’t remember one and it was made before he even won a major.
I must say that some of the players in it ie Dimi looked cheesed off to be there.
This hyperbole is counter productive. And Ferrero has already said that their aim is to reach Rafa’s total of 22 ( or more). Maybe he will get there. In some respects I don’t care very much if he does. But I find it very hard to imagine Toni saying something like this. Toni was all about acknowledging Federer’s genius and showing reference to it and respect. If Alcaraz flames and then burns, which is entirely possible, they are going to regret coming up with these statements and the self inflicted pressure.
I do however think it’s good for the game he has come through and there is a bona fide young star. I don’t mind Alcaraz’s cockiness as much as many do.
Amy, I agree with what you said entirely. No need to rush things. Let them happen naturally. I also believe it’s okay to set those ambitious goals, but keep them inside your tennis group. Just in case … 🙂
Well if Alcaraz gets a long tribute video without winning a slam then Fed should get a 7 day celebration!
Bit strange I commented on how one never normally sees these things except when a player retires and this happens!
It does put things in perspective. The reality of being a goat 🐐 and winning so much is totally different from all this hype.
* showing deference
I just had to put in some sarcasm and humor. That was why I posted my comment @ 8:13 pm. Just to show the absurdity of the hype. I don’t think there was as much hype when Med beat Novak last year at the USO. It’s a shame really.
I blame the tennis commies for this. They are out of control. I think Alcaraz is the real deal. I do think he will do well in this sport. I am not making any predictions about hiw many slams he will win. Ferrero can shove it. He is beyond arrogant.
I will defend the big three because they earned it. They have proven themselves throughout their careers. Now it is for Alcaraz to go out there and earn it. If people think we need a new star in tennis, then so be it. I just don’t feel comfortable basically writing off the rest of these young guys. That is quite unfair to them. I hope that we can look forward to many competitive matches and new rivalries.
I did not know about the video paying tribute to Alcaraz. What about Fed? I should think he would get a worthy send off after contributing so much to this sport.
If people can’t understand why I think this is all hyperbole, I don’t care. It’s too much. Why does he need a video with tributes from other players? It is wretched excess. Period.