The teenager has the tools to dominate men’s tennis for years to come. But he is wise to concentrate on the present after a spectacular victory in New York
Like Michael Myers with a tennis racket, he just keeps coming. If we learned nothing else from Carlos Alcaraz’s sensational run to the US Open title, it’s that one would-be winner is rarely enough to stop him. Often two or three won’t do. For two weeks in New York, the best teenager in men’s tennis since Rafael Nadal nearly two decades ago turned would-be killshots into crowd-pleasing additions to his ever-expanding highlight reel, keeping points alive with his incomparable all-court movement, impeccable touch and taste for the fight. He is a hell of a player.
The record will show that Alcaraz formally became the youngest No 1 in the history of the ATP’s world rankings with Sunday’s four-set win over the Norwegian Casper Ruud to capture his first grand slam title. But the 19-year-old from the small village of El Palmar on Spain’s southeastern coast practically earned his trophy in the run-up, surviving three consecutive five-set affairs to reach the title match, something no player had managed in 30 years.
