ONEderkid: Carlos Alcaraz tops Casper Ruud to claim first Major and ascend to No. 1 in the rankings
NEW YORK, September 12
With a mighty serve and beaming grin, Carlos Alcaraz rocketed to the pinnacle of men’s tennis at the US Open on Sunday, a remarkable turnaround for the 19-year-old just weeks after he said he had lost some of his joy for the sport.
I’m hungry for more. I want to be in the top for many, many weeks. (I) hope many years. I’m going to work hard again after this week, this amazing two weeks. I’m going to fight for more of this. Carlos Alcaraz
He (was) born to play this kind of tournament, born to play these kind of matches. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s coach
The New York crowd had taken the Spanish teen to their hearts last year when he became the youngest man to reach the US Open quarterfinals.
And their affections deepened on Sunday when he beat Casper Ruud 6-4 2-6 7-6(1) 6-3 to win his first Grand Slam and replace Daniil Medvedev as world No. 1.
After collecting a pair of Masters 1000 titles this year, Alcaraz looked set to push for his first Major title in New York but suffered a crisis of confidence in Montreal last month, losing his opening match.
He then exited the Cincinnati Open in the quarterfinals and said the pressure was getting to him.
“In Montreal and in Cincinnati I lost the joy a little bit,” said Alcaraz. “I felt the pressure. I couldn’t smile on court which I’m doing in every match, every tournament.”
He arrived at Flushing Meadows determined to enjoy himself, he said, though the path to the final could scarcely have been more gruelling.
He survived three consecutive five-setters before meeting the Norwegian on Sunday, though the bruising schedule seemed to have little impact on the supremely athletic Alcaraz.
“He (was) born to play this kind of tournament, born to play these kind of matches,” said his coach, fellow Spaniard and former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. “He’s a great competitor. He’s there. He’s trying all the time.”
Ferrero, the 2003 Roland Garros champion, said he recognised the “explosive” talent in Alcaraz right away but they had to work hard to improve the physical side of his game.
“When he arrived to academy when he was 15, he was like a spaghetti, very thin. We had to work,” he told reporters. “We saw that he had very fast hands, very fast legs, but no muscles at all, not in the back, not in the legs. We had to work a lot. But obviously we saw something very special in him.”
Alcaraz collected his first ATP title a little over a year ago in Croatia and has become the youngest world No. 1 since the ATP rankings began in 1973.
But this is just the beginning, he said. “I’m hungry for more. I want to be in the top for many, many weeks. (I) hope many years,” he told reporters. — Reuters
19 Aged 19 years and four months, Alcaraz is the youngest player to reach No. 1 in the ATP computerised rankings since they were introduced in 1973. He is also the youngest men’s champion at the US Open since Pete Sampras was 19 in 1990.
51 The Spaniard handled the pressure in the fourth set to earn his 51st tour-level win of the season after three hours and 20 minutes.
3 Alcaraz won three consecutive five-set matches to reach his first Grand Slam final.
23 The Spaniard spent 23 hours and 39 minutes on court during the fortnight, passing Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon in 2018 for most time played at a single Grand Slam tournament on record (since 1999).
5 Alcaraz has now captured a tour-leading five titles this season, including ATP Masters 1000 trophies in Miami and Madrid.
