Phenomenon Alcaraz: The youthful revolutionary in the tennis hierarchy
Carlos Alcaraz is stirring up the tennis scene. And claims to be the successor to his compatriot Rafael Nadal .
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: May 09, 2022, 01:52 pm
At the end of the next triumphant day, Carlos Alcaraz (19) still had a few comforting, charitable words left for his defeated opponent in the final from Madrid. Alexander Zverev, said Alcaraz after his 6: 3, 6: 1 thrashing victory, will certainly win "a few Grand Slam titles" in the future and also "jump to number 1 in the world rankings." However, it could also be that Zverev , but also others, many dreams are denied, because there is this new star in the tennis universe - the spoilsport Alcaraz, 19 years young. Man of the hour, man of the present, man of the future in his sport.
The powerful Spaniard is irresistible as a phenomenon this season, none since Rafael Nadal almost two decades ago has registered so impressively and dynamically in the summit region for the highest titles and honors. "He's the best in the world right now," said Zverev on Sunday, not just out of polite fulfillment of duty at the Masters ceremonies. Because it's almost true: Alcaraz, this amazing Nadal clone, is already in second place in the ATP annual ranking behind his famous compatriot and 21-time Grand Slam champion - no wonder with four titles in the first four months of the game series 2022.
Alcaraz beats three top-five rivals in Madrid
One thing is particularly noteworthy about Alcaraz, the guy with the big muscles: he recently won seven matches against top ten competitors in a row, in Madrid he was the first teenager ever to beat three top 5 rivals. First Nadal, then Djokovic, then Zverev, the German, who, after turbulence in the schedule with several night matches, no longer had the strength to tame Alcaraz, known to colleagues as "Charlie".
Anyone who thought that someone from the mid-twenties generation would one day take command of the big three in tennis, i.e. Medvedev, Tsitsipas or Zverev, could have been wrong. Because Alcaraz is certainly not one of those players who experience a short hype, a short rise and a deep fall. The 19-year-old, who was still outside the top 100 in the top ranking a year ago, is an exception - a young guy who has the power, brains and, above all, the mentality to play a central role in the traveling circus for years to come. It remains to be seen whether he can follow in the footsteps of Nadal, Federer or Djokovic - in addition to consistency at the highest level, he also needs the necessary luck to be spared injuries.
Nadal gets successors from their own country
After the recent consecutive clay court victories in Barcelona and Madrid - just like his idol Nadal before - Alcaraz is taking a creative break. The Masters tournament in Rome has to take place without the new superstar, for Alcaraz it is now important to gather the decisive forces for the Grand Slam exertion in Paris. If in doubt, he has to go to the physical limits over five sets against people like Nadal, Djokovic or other veritable clay court experts. "My goal is clear: I want to win a Grand Slam this year," says Alcaraz, who has left the court as the winner in 28 of 31 matches this season. The most painful defeat overtook him at the beginning of the year when he lost to Matteo Berrettini (Italy), who was seventh in the world at the time, in the tie-break of the fifth set at the Australian Open.
A good three months later, shortly before the peak of the clay court season, he has now arrived in the establishment himself - without appearing established. Alcaraz still spreads the charm of the youthful troublemaker, the revolutionary in the tennis hierarchy. It all seems like a journey back in time, to 2005, when Rafael Nadal turned the world of the traveling circus upside down before and after his 19th birthday and won the first of his now thirteen Roland Garros trophies. The fact that Nadal would grow up as a congenial successor from his own country and not from somewhere else in the big, wide tennis world is quite crazy in the already crazy story of Carlos Alcaraz.