Carlos Alcarazat 21 years and 35 days old, has become the king of the track. No one had taken less time to complete winning Grand Slam titles on the three surfaces of tennis: dirt, grass and hard..
The successes of the Murcian began on September 11, 2022 with the achievement of the United States Open. The crown in New York It also made him the precocious number 1 in history, at 19 years, four months and six days.
Alcaraz’s best points to beat Ruud in the US Open final
July 16, 2023 was the date on which Carlitos won on the Wimbledon grass. June 9, 2024 will be remembered as the day he reigned at the Philippe Chatrier, a central court in Paris with a Spanish flavor.
Alcaraz leaves behind the mark of his idolized Rafael Nadal, who was the youngest to win the three majors on different courts. The Spaniard completed the circle at the 2009 Australian Open. He was 22 years and seven months old.
The seven tennis players who won ‘Grand Slam’ on all three surfaces
Carlos Alcaraz (21 years and 35 days)
Rafael Nadal (22 years and 7 months)
Mats Wilander (23 years and 5 months)
Jimmy Connors (26 years and 8 days)
Roger Federer (27 years and 9 months)
Novak Djokovic (29 years and 14 days)
Andre Agassi (29 years and 1 month)
Other racket legends appear later on that list such as Mats Wilander (23 years and five months), Jimmy Connors (26 years and eight days), Roger Federer (27 years and nine months), Novak Djokovic (29 years and 14 days) and Andre Agassi (29 years and 1 month).
“I have grown up on clay, but my game is more adapted to fast. It is not difficult for me to pick up the pace or play many games to get in shape,” he says.
You are right because he landed in Paris with a scant baggage of four duels played at the Mutua Madrid Open after being eliminated before Monte Carlo and Barcelona and later from Rome due to an edema in the pronator teres of his right arm.
Carlos Alcaraz overcomes Djokovic and makes history at Wimbledon
Carlitos is going at a great pace per season and only he knows the limit and how far he can go if his injuries are respected. Hunger is not lacking: “The finals are to be won, not to be played“.
14 finals won and 4 lost
It is one of his maxims and it is applied in it. Throughout his career, only lost four of the 18 played. Two were in the summer of 2022: on the ground of Hamburg against Lorenzo Musetti and on the same surface, but in Umag, against Jannik Sinner. Last season, he lost to Cameron Norrie on the clay of Rio de Janeiro and then against Djokovic on the cement of the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
Alcaraz is crowned at Roland Garros: a direct end to the history of Spanish sport
Double change of track
Since 2000, only Nadal had won the French Open before turning 22. After the grass tour, which for him includes the Queen’s and Wimbledon tournaments, the tennis player planned to prepare for the Paris Olympic Games with the Hopman Cup in Nice.
The 2024 edition was canceled so Alcaraz will arrive at the Olympic event directly from Wimbledon. That involves a double change from dirt to grass and back to dirt. The confidence acquired with the Roland Garros crown is enough tennis and mental training to qualify for gold. l
