Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz made history by becoming the seventh man and youngest to capture Grand Slam titles on all three of tennis' surfaces— a just concluded victory over Alexander Zverev on the Paris clay at the French Open, a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 hard-court US Open success over Norwegian Casper Ruud in 2022 to capture the US Open Grand Slam title for the first time in his young career and a win last year against 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic on the velvet smooth Wimbledon grass inside Centre Court.
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Young Alcaraz won Alexander Zverev in a five-sets encounter to win his maiden French Open title at Roland Garros; the first of its kind in recent times without the involvement of any of tennis' "Big Three" of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer since 2004.
The young Spaniard, still just 21, having clinched his maiden French Open title, is now leading the tennis world on with a somewhat change of the guard and a new 'King of Clay'.
Alcaraz came into the Paris Grand Slam tournament with doubts over his fitness, having missed out on the Italian Open due to an injury he sustained to his right forearm. Upon arrival in Paris, he barely had any matches under his belt and saw out the French Open with an arm sleeve, fair enough to say that the pre-tournament uncertainties added to his achievement.
Here's a player who, in the semi-finals in Paris, beat Jannik Sinner - a replacement for the injured Djokovic at No. 1 in the rankings - and came back from a two-sets-to-one deficit by grabbing eight of the last 11 games in a four-hour, nine-minute match.
In the final, Alcaraz, filling a Rafael Nadal-sized void at Roland Garros' clay surface, wore down Alexander Zverev and once again erased a 2-1 deficit in sets, dispatching a valiant 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2 in a four-hour, 19-minute clash on court Phillipe Chatrier this time, making it a roll through 12 of the last 15 games.
In his words, he felt elated when quoted saying, "This is the moment I'm really proud about," Alcaraz said. "Winning the US Open when I reached for the first time the No 1 [ranking], was something that I dreamt about since I started playing tennis. So it was pretty special.
"The way I won Wimbledon, beating Djokovic in five sets, has been a great achievement. Right now, lifting the Roland Garros trophy, knowing everything I've been through the last month with the injuries, is the proudest one."
"Winning a Grand Slam is always special, but here in Roland Garros, knowing all the Spanish players who have won here, to put my name on that list is unbelievable," Alcaraz said.
"I dreamt to be in this position since I started playing tennis and I was five or six years old."
Before clinching his third Grand Slam title, Alcaraz towed the path of his childhood hero Rafael Nadal, who was well known as the 'King of Clay' thanks to his 14 French Open championship titles across an illustrious career, but let's not get carried away too soon because young Alcaraz still needs to clinch 13 more championships to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Mallorca born Nadal, although the youngster still has time on his side- and no little ability - on his side.
Currently, Novak Djokovic holds the record for the most men's Grand Slam singles titles with 24, while Rafael Nadal sits next with 22, and Roger Federer is third in line with two titles further back on 20. However, Djokovic won his first major at the 2008 Australian Open when he was 20, while Federer won at Wimbledon in 2003, aged 21. Alcaraz clinched his first just aged 19 at the 2022 US Open, and the world has been his oyster ever since then.
In 2023, Alcaraz was thwarted by nerves in the semi-finals because his opponent overawed him - the magnificent Novak Djokovic.
Fast forward to this year, and he had to overcome them, facing incoming world number one Jannik Sinner in the round of four.
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During the title match with Alexander Zverev, Alcatraz did look edgy and unconvincing. Still, he later demonstrated "Cabeza, Corazon, cojones"- translated as show head, heart and courage in difficult moments and, according to him, advice given by his grandad, and inspiration famously for a tattoo he has on his wrist - to come through.
It's poetically proper to presume that the man about to assume the throne spent his youth running home to watch his idol, compatriot and previous chief of the red dirt, Rafael Nadal, lift the trophy.
Alcaraz himself has once admitted that his play style suits every surface. As a young lad coming from Spain, he first learned the sport on a clay surface. He finds himself most comfortable on hard courts, trying how best to excel there because that's the surface used at most tournaments - and his always-look-to-attack pattern of play is a perfect match for grass, as his win over seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic in last year's final at the All England Club showed this. But in all of these, clay was the surface that Alcaraz grew up playing on in his hometown of Murcia, and the French Open was the event he dreamt of winning. Greg Rusedski, former British number one, in a chat with BBC Sport, said,
"The interesting thing is we all thought he would win the French Open as his first major," t
"Last year against Djokovic, he got super tight, cramping and got nervous. It happened against Sinner as well.
"It felt like his destiny to win this event, and now he's found a way to win it; the sky is the limit."
On the long walk to victory towards breaking Nadal's records on clay, it suffices that clay is the natural surface for Spanish players, with about 60% of their tennis courts made up of red dirt - most small villages have them.
Rafael Nadal came to the fore as the next big thing in a long line of Spanish success - albeit far more sustained than his Roland Garrod predecessors. He accrued an incredible 14 titles between 2005 and 2022 and set a long line of mind-blowing records which have not been matched at any other Grand Slam tournament.
Since 1993, Spain has also enjoyed French Open triumphs for Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moya, Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero, meaning the nation has accounted for 20 of the past 32 men's champions.
Alcaraz has been seen as the Spanish heir apparent to Nadal since entering the scene as a teenager. Overcoming Zverev means he has continued the nation's success, and he is expected to add further to the tally in the coming years.
It'll be a fair judgement at this point to presume that the influence the "big three" had on the tennis world for about two decades is fast-waning. Rafael Nadal fell short to eventual finalist Zverev, and despite Novak Djokovic's efforts to make an appearance, an injury forced his withdrawal. Legend Roger Federer took a huge bow to the game in 2022, leaving a huge chasm yearning for a cover in the centre of the sport, and no better man than Alcaraz looks more prepared to fill it.
In the buzz of excitement, Alcaraz intends to have a tattoo as a permanent reminder of winning the tournament he loved as a child.
In the lead-up to his first French Open final, a photo of a 12-year-old Carlos Alcaraz sat in front of the Eiffel Tower watching the tournament on a big screen surfaced online, and the youngster intends to have the iconic Eiffel Tower landmark inked on himself to mark Paris destiny.
"It will be on the left ankle - the Eiffel Tower and today's date," Alcaraz said.
"I have to find time, but I will do it for sure." He said.
