Carlos Alcaraz, the new prodigy of world tennis
For almost 20 years, tennis has been dominated by four men: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray, known as the Big 4. It’s quite simple: from February 2, 2004, to February 28, 2022, no other player had managed to reach the top of the world rankings.
Before the Russian Daniil Medvedev, 26 years old, came to play the spoils. This move gave wings to another fellow Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz.
Since his success at the US Open, he has been at the top of the leaderboard and has made the bettors who trust the top Asian Bookmakers take advantage of it.
A feat associated with a record: he is the youngest to have reached this position in the history of men’s tennis.
A predestined champion
The Iberian prodigy born in El Palmar began his professional career in 2018. He was introduced to the small yellow ball at a very early age and for good reason: his father, Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez, runs a tennis club.
Even if this one prefers quickly to delegate his training to others. A true prodigy, Carlos Alcaraz did not take long to shine at the junior level. Nor to catch the eye of many seasoned observers of the milieu.
So much so that Juan Carlos Ferrero, former Spanish world number 1 and winner of the French Open in 2003, agreed to coach him.
The first consecration came in the pros in 2020. The young man, then 16 years old, received an invitation to participate in the Rio de Janeiro tournament, where he won his first match.
In 2021, not only did he win his first major tournament (in Umag, Croatia), but he also played in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open, beating then-world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the process.
Winner at the US OPEN in 2022
Carlos Alcaraz began 2022 with the ambition of reaching the top 15 in the world. He won the Rio de Janeiro tournament and then the Master 1000 (the highest category tournament after the Grand Slam) in Miami and Monte Carlo.
At the Madrid tournament, which he won, he defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, then Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, and finally the German Alexander Zverev in the final.
He really gets the consecration by winning the US Open against the Norwegian Casper Ruud and then gets the first world place. He still holds this position today.
If many Spanish players shine on clay, Carlos Alcaraz stands out by being equally good on all surfaces. He is particularly aggressive at the back of the court. He shows physical and athletic qualities that are rare for such a young player.
He likes to compare his style of play to that of Roger Federer, who has long been one of his idols.
A chameleon of the game
At the start of 2020, Carlos Alcaraz was still playing on the secondary circuit. He was 16 years old, had Nadal posters hanging on his bedroom walls, and was ranked 490th in the ATP rankings.
While the Spaniard was crushing the competition at a young age, it took Alcaraz a bit longer to develop his flair. Although the fragile youngster had a more complete technical range than the older man at the same age, with so many options in his racket, he wasn’t always able to find the one that was right at the right time.
From that moment on, he has become a chameleon of the game capable of adapting his style of tennis to any type of adversary. Carlos Alcaraz is known for his remarkable athletic and physical qualities.
In particular, his direct sprints, his ability to counter-attack from often indefensible positions on the court, and an extremely high-top speed that has earned him comparisons to a young Rafael Nadal or Gaël Monfils.
He has been compared to Novak Djokovic for his confident lateral movement and court coverage aided by physical splits and slips on defense, especially on his backhand where he is often able to neutralize his opponent’s aggression on groundstrokes or drop attempts.
He has also been compared to Roger Federer for his excellent footwork and ability to get in on his forehand and control the court with his attack.
These aspects, combined with the impressive mental strength and resilience that he has possessed since he was a teenager, have led many former players and analysts such as Martina Navrátilová, John McEnroe, and Mark Petchey to consider him a future world number 1 and a multiple Grand Slam winner.
The future
Carlos Alcaraz has won ten titles, including the 2022 US Open and four Masters 1000, in Miami and Madrid in 2022 and Indian Wells and Madrid in 2023. No wonder he is already making headlines on the best betting sites in India. The future is likely to be even more glorious
