Carlos Alcaraz: A New Era in Tennis as the Next Gen Steps Up at Wimbledon

Carlos Alcaraz poses with the Wimbledon trophy (Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)

Carlos Alcaraz has clearly inaugurated a new stage in the history of tennis. With his first title at Wimbledon, the Spaniard makes it clear that the era of the Big Three in racket sport is coming to an end: it is time to make way for the Next Gen that so proudly leads the number one in the world . “I have never played against a tennis player like him in my career,” Novak Djokovic has surrendered, before the evidence. The relay for the Serbian, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer is more than guaranteed thanks to the Murcian talent. Whose limits, at barely 20 years old, are, right now, unfathomable.

Youth is an even more divine treasure in the case of Alcaraz, who already has two Grand Slams to his credit and has a whole career still ahead of him to fatten that figure: US Open in 2022 and the present Wimbledon. This last milestone is an authentic ode to the impossible why (16 victories in just 18 games on grass and two titles) and how (returning Nole to 6-1, winning a tie-break and a game lasting almost 30 minutes , five sets…). In addition, it places him in an enviable situation among the greatest tennis players in history.

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Margaret Court is the tennis player with the most majors in history, on an individual level, thanks to her 24 championships. She surpasses Alcaraz in terms of precocity, thanks to her first successes at the Australian Open: she inaugurated her list of greats at just 17 years old in the 1960 edition and repeated her success at 18 in 1961. In total, she won up to 11 times in Melbourne, five at Roland Garros, three at Wimbledon and another five at the US Open: at Carlitos’s age, he already had four majors.

Alcaraz’s scream of rage during the Wimbledon final. (Reuters/Dylan Martinez)

In the case of Djokovic, with 23 Grand Slams behind him, he reached the first at the age of 20, at the 2008 Australian Open. In that sense, Alcaraz would already surpass him, since his success at last year’s US Open was He was gestated with 19. However, he does it twice: when the Serbian won a big one for the second time, again in Australia in 2011, he was 23 years old. To date, he has won ten times on Australian soil, three in Paris, seven in London and three in New York.

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Serena Williams also has 23 grand to her credit, and improves on Alcaraz’s breakneck course. She was only 17 years old when she debuted her record in Grand Slam, at the US Open in 1999. At 20, she already had four gimps of substance: in 2002, she won Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open. Throughout her career, she won seven times in Australia, three at Roland Garros, seven also at Wimbledon and six at the US Open.

The list continues with Steffi Graf’s 22 Grand Slams. She made her debut as a major champion at 17, at Roland Garros in 1987. Hers is another example of maturity by leaps and bounds in tennis, perhaps the greatest of all: at the age of 20, she had won up to eight majors. She was champion four times in Australia, six at Roland Garros, seven at Wimbledon and five at the US Open.

Thus we come to Nadal, also with 22 Grand Slams. With the same 19 years of age as Alcaraz’s debut in the majors, he made his debut winning big at Roland Garros 2005. He repeated in the 2006 edition, already at 20. Therefore, both legendary Spaniards are equal in terms of precocity taking majors, for now. So far, the man from Manacor has won twice in Australia, 14 at Roland Garros, two at Wimbledon and four at the US Open.

Federer was left with 20 Grand Slam. Alcaraz comes out winning in this comparison, since the Swiss did not lift his first trophy in a big one until Wimbledon 2003, already with 21 years. They would fall, in total, six Australian Opens, one Roland Garros, eight Wimbledon and five US Open. Behind, we have Chris Evert, with 18 grand. The first came at Roland Garros 1974, at the age of 19, just like Carlitos. At 20, he was already four: he won twice in Australia, seven at Roland Garros, three at Wimbledon and six at the US Open.

Novak Djokovic during the 2023 Wimbledon final (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

The same number of greats, 18, appear in the history of Martina Navratilova. She didn’t win the first one until Wimbledon 1978, when she was 21 years old. Therefore, Alcaraz has partially surpassed her records, which include three Australian Opens, two Roland Garros, nine Wimbledons and four US Opens. Conclusion? Charly’s milestones are already very laudable, just released as a twenty-something, improving what has been achieved by various legends at his age and, above all, aiming very high for the future.

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2023-07-17 10:36:05
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