Carlos Alcaraz cemented his status as the next big thing in men’s tennis on Sunday when he claimed his first Grand Slam title by beating Casper Rudd (6-4 2-6 7-6 6-3) in the US Open finals. The win also propelled the 19-year-old to the top of the ATP rankings, making him the youngest world No.1 in tennis history.
Alcaraz’s US Open title at such a young age puts him in the company of several all-time greats. He is the youngest since Rafael Nadal to win a Grand Slam and the youngest champion at Flushing Meadows since Pete Sampras won a US Open title there in 1990 as a 19-year-old
“Well, this is something that I dreamed of since I was a kid,” said Alcaraz. “It’s something I worked really, really hard [for]. It’s tough to talk right now. A lot of emotions.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s meteoric rise started in 2021 when he had several impressive showings at Grand Slam tournaments. He reached the third round at French Open while getting to the quarter-finals of the US Open. But 2022 was the year his career really set off.
Alcaraz started the season by getting to the third round of the Australian Open before winning two ATP Masters tournaments. He beat Rudd in Miami Open Finals and followed that up with a straight-set win over Alexander Zverev in Madrid Open Finals. The Spaniard also got to quarter-finals of the French Open and fourth-round of Wimbledon before his title-winning run at US Open.
