Is Carlos on his way to historical greatness?
Carlos Alcaraz has a long road to greatness. But he's on track so far.
It's been almost two years since Alcaraz first won a Grand Slam. Then, he was a fresh-faced teenager who grabbed the crowd and the title with his flashy shot-making at the 2022 U.S. Open. The following year, he showed he could take on the greats with an enthralling five-set victory against Novak Djokovic in the final of Wimbledon, capturing his second major title.
Now, the Spaniard has won four Slams, and there's talk about whether he is on his way to becoming one of the greats himself. At this year's Wimbledon, Alcaraz smoked former No. 1 Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 [4] in the finals on the grass. Together with his victory at the French Open on clay a few weeks before, it has firmly established him as the current player to beat in the men's game.
But being considered an all-time great is a much more difficult feat than it used to be, thanks to the incredible era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic that recently unfolded, with each repeatedly breaking Grand Slam records and Djokovic currently having 24 Slams and the record for most weeks at No. 1 in the rankings.
Alcaraz's numbers right now are small by comparison. As he told the crowd at Wimbledon, he doesn't yet consider himself a "champion" compared to the game's legends.
But he's got things going for him as he looks to change that -- his game is already being compared to Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. And like them through their careers, he's still making improvements. He himself has said he wants to play like Roger.
He can hit almost any shot, and has fantastic movement. His court coverage seems the best of all the top players.
In 1980 John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg played two of the greatest matches of all time in Wimbledon and the U.S. Open finals, both won by McEnroe, catalyzing Borg's disappearance from the game. In Epic, Matt Cronin, one the world's most respected tennis writers, and a regular Tennisplayer.net contributor, tells the stories of the two legendary careers that lead up those confrontations - as well as recounting the matches themselves. We're excerpting the start of both stories on Tennisplayer - the young Borg and the young McEnroe. Get Matt's book and read the rest!
TennisReporters.net is the world's leading subscription based source of tennis commentary, opinions, and features from the world professional tour. At TennisReporters.net, founded by Matt Cronin, the world's best known tennis journalists give you the straight insight into what is really happening, and aren't afraid to describe the pros just the way they are.
Matthew Cronin, founder of TennisReporters.net, is one of the most prolific and insightful journalists working in the sport of tennis. Matt has covered men's and women's pro tennis for the past fifteen years, traveling the world to develop his unique first hand perspective on every aspect of the game. Matt is a regular contributor to Reuters, has written extensively for the official Grand Slam web sites, and did play-by-play on the first web radio broadcast of the US Open finals. A former co-president of the International Tennis Writers Association, Cronin resides in Moraga, Calif., USA, with his wife, Patti, and their children, Cassandra, Connor and Chiara.
Tennisplayer Forum
Let's Talk About this Article!
Share Your Thoughts with our Subscribers and Authors!
