Carlos Alcaraz celebrates twice. Photo: AFP
Youngest Grand Slam finalist since then Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros 2005. The youngest finalist of US Open from Pietro Sampras in 1990. The youngest player to qualify for the ATP finals since then Andrea Medvedev in 1993. And now the youngest number 1 in the world by Leyton Hewitt in 2001.
Earliness records are what best defines Carlos Alcaraz, the Spaniard who turned 19 on 5 May and already dominates the ATP circuit with quality and a lot of charisma. You have to go far back in time, and remember the legends of tennis, to find any resemblance to what the Murcian is doing.
Comparison with “Big three”As tempting as it may sound, it is unfair, considering his career is just starting as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are burning their last shot. However, Carlitos’ debut does not have much to envy to that of Roger, Rafa and Nole. From here on, consistency over time will be your biggest challenge.
talent and effort
After playing five hours and 15 minutes against Jannik sinner, The second longest game in the history of the American Grand Slam, alcaraz He hit the Arthur Ashe Stadium track with the freshness of a first round and got rid of the venue Francesca Tiafè in straight series.
because he is not alone a devastating thrust, perhaps the best of all, consistency from the baseline, a backhand that gives him options to hit his best shot and a serve that rivals the elite. It is also speed, explosion and resistance, a physical beast willing to carry everything forward.
The physicist, in fact, was the one who cut him off last year in New York. He had eliminated Cameron Norrie (seeded 26th) and number 3 in the world in his debut Stefanos Tsitsipas, showing all the best of his repertoire, but could not resist the demand to play the best of five sets for the first time and had to retire in the quarter-finals against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Exactly one year later, what was once a weakness is now its main virtue. And there is one of the keys, to improve day after day and work with humility, with a very clear mirror: “My idol is Rafa Nadal. I want to be like him because he trains very hard, sacrifices himself a lot and he really wants to play.” There is no doubt that he will continue the same way, regardless of the result of Sunday’s final.
In this process of growing up to reach the top, quickly but always with the feet on the ground, the figure of Juan Carlos Ferrero. The former world number 1 and Roland Garros champion in 2003 showed him the way and invited him to compete.
Ferrero and Alcaraz have a special bond, beyond the professional relationship. He demonstrated this in the preview of the Miami Masters 1000 final when the coach, after going to Spain to say goodbye to his father, unexpectedly returned to the United States and merged into an emotional embrace with his pupil, who would have wanted to be champion hours later.
El Mosquito knew from the beginning when he started training with Carlitos after his experience as a coach of alexander zverev, that Murciano was of a different kind and that, sooner or later, it would end up reaching the elite. But he wasn’t the only one.
“I met him in 2019 at the Barcelona tournament. He was 15, I was in the Top 50 and we trained together. At the end of training I offered him to play a four game set and he beat me 4-0 “.She said Felix Auger Aliassime in an interview with French television during the last Roland Garros.
Some time later, in view of the 2021 US Open clash, when Alcaraz had not yet reached the level he has today, the Canadian praised him again and anticipated what would happen: “I think he will be the best tennis player in the world for many years to come.”
Surprise? There is no way.
The team, another key
Behind a genius like Alcaraz is a huge team, which in his case is the largest on the circuit. In addition to Ferrero, a very important figure is that of Juanjo Moreno, one of his physiotherapists.
In an interview with the site breaking point, Carlitos’ physiotherapist explained the recovery path that the tennis player underwent to arrive in optimal conditions for this Friday’s game against Tiafoe, applying what he calls the four ‘rs’: rehydration, replacement, muscle repair and immune system regeneration.
“At the cellular level, water or liquid deposits are depleted of electrolytes. The steps we use with Carlos consist of a regeneration process on the bike, at the end of the game, and, in the meantime, a dietary supplement with some recuperative and regenerative products “, he began to explain.
“So, a metabolic window opens at the physiological level in which the body is able to assimilate nutrients. It is not a substitute for the main food, but rather a supplement that is taken while cycling and is part of muscle repair. It is important to do these things so that the player’s recovery is better the next day, “he continued describing.
Finally, he referred to the regeneration of the immune system: “We alternate hot and cold water baths so that there is vasodilation and vasoconstriction of the arteries and capillaries. This causes more and new blood to reach the muscles and regenerate them.”And he added: “Finally, manual therapies, which are massages so that you can recover better. There we see what are the weakest points to do the job you need “.
A boy among giant names
If at the beginning it was said so Carlos Alcaraz He doesn’t have much to envy to what Federer, Nadal and Djokovic did at the same age, it’s because something is missing and it’s dedicating themselves to a Grand Slam tournament.
The Majorcan overcame Porta Mariana at the end of Roland Garros 2005 and was champion within days of his 19th birthday, while the Serbian won the title of Australian Open in 2008, compared to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, with just over 20 and a half years. Roger, meanwhile, did so at 21 at Wimbledon 2003.
The leader of this particular statistic is Michele Chang, 17 years and 3 months in Paris in 1989, while, among women, Martina Hingis He was crowned in Melbourne in 1997 at the age of 16 and a half.
That’s the way it goes, Alcaraz, At 19 years and 4 months, he is looking to become the seventh youngest man to be a Grand Slam champion and to put his name alongside other tennis greats. the Russian Karen Khachanov, Sunday at the legendary Arthur Ashe and in front of 24,000 people, will be proof that he has the Spanish. Three sets separate him from a new venture and definitely position himself as a future legend.
The youngest GS champions.
- 1st Michael Chang: 17 years and 3 months (Roland Garros 1989).
- 2nd Boris Becker: 17 years and 7 months (Wimbledon 1985).
- 3rd Mats Wilander: 17 years and 9 months (Roland Garros 1982).
- 4th Michael Borg: 18 years and 10 days (Roland Garros 1974).
- 5th Rafael Nadal: 19 years and 3 days (Roland Garros 2005).
- 6th Pete Sampras: 19 years and 29 days (US Open 1990).
- 7th Carlos Alcaraz: 19 years, four months and seven days (Us Open 2022)
Source: Clarin
