Growing up in his native Spain it was always inevitable that Carlos Alcaraz would be compared to one of the greats of the game but he is determined to set his own path.
The 19-year-old has taken the tennis world by storm with his rapid ascend to the top of the ATP rankings this week to become the youngest player in ATP Tour history to do so. On Sunday he clinched his maiden Grand Slam title after defeating Casper Ruud in four sets. The triumph comes during a season where he has also won two Masters 1000 and two ATP 500 events.
Alcaraz, who started 2022 outside the world’s top 30, is being tipped as a likely successor to fill the shoes of the Big Three in the future. A term used to describe Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer who have won a staggering 63 major titles between them. Alcaraz’s rise is being closely compared to that of his idol Nadal who was the last player to win a Grand Slam at a younger age than him.
“I don’t want to be the next Rafa. I just want to be Carlos Alcaraz. I want to make history and make my own path to be remembered as Carlos Alcaraz.” The Spaniard said during an interview with CGTN.
“I still have a lot of things to improve. I am still really young, I’m 19 years old. Of course, my time is here. (I’m) number one in the world. My time has come so fast and now it’s time to stay there (No.1) for as many weeks (as possible) and try to be better.”
The world No.1 travelled to Valencia earlier this week to join his teammates in the Davis Cup. He missed Spain’s opening tie against Serbia on Wednesday but there is a chance he could play later in the week despite his marathon run at the US Open. In Flushing Meadows, he played seven matches which lasted a total of 23 hours and 40 minutes.
Davis Cup tournament director and former world No.3 David Ferrer believes Alcaraz is the ‘natural successor’ to Nadal.
“It is clear that Carlos is a blessing. We have Rafa Nadal, who is unique, but the truth is that we have relief because he is a different player, special.” Ferrer said during an interview with sports newspaper Marca.
“He is a tennis player who possesses all the shots and dominates the point. He is humble and wants to continue learning every day.” He added.
Besides being No.1 in the world, Alcaraz also leads the ATP Tour when it comes to most titles won (five) and most matches won (51).
