US Open: Carlos Alcaraz, a Spanish adolescent, won his first Grand Slam tournament at the US Open on Sunday night, making him the youngest person to hold the No. 1 ranking in history.
Alcaraz and Casper Ruud both entered the tournament hoping to win their first Grand Slam championship and take the top spot in the rankings. However, it was the 19-year-old who emerged victorious, winning 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Spaniard is over a year younger than Lleyton Hewitt was in 2001 when he took the top spot in the standings.
“This is something I dreamed of since I was a young kid. To be number one in the world, to be the champion of a Grand Slam,” said Alcaraz.
“All the hard work I did with my team, my family. I’m just 19 years old so a lot of the decisions are with my team, and my parents. It’s something that is very special for me.”
Alcaraz admitted with a smile that he was “a little bit” tired, but said: “I always said it’s not time to be tired in the final round of a Grand Slam. You have to give everything on the court, everything you have inside.”
Alcaraz, who gained attention when he advanced to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows a year ago, demonstrated that he was ready to win the biggest titles by winning the Masters tournaments in Miami and Madrid, where he defeated Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal back-to-back. Despite his young age, Alcaraz has shown that he is a complete player.
On a rainy day in New York, the match was played inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Alcaraz took the lead right away with a break in game three.
After the umpire missed a double bounce, Ruud graciously awarded his opponent a point, although Alcaraz did not really need the assistance as he went on to win the first set.
At 2-2 in the second set, he forced a break point, but Ruud saved it, and the tide shifted.
In the following game, Ruud made the crucial play during one of the all-court rallies that Alcaraz has made his trademark this year.
He then won four straight games as Alcaraz’s vigour waned. Early in the third set, the teenager broke, but gave it back with a drained-looking backhand into the net, and for the majority of the rest of the set, Alcaraz was holding on.
Alcaraz was once more on his toes, and the pressure paid off as he broke through to take the lead 4-2 in the fourth set and then served out the match to seal his historic victory.
While this was the second-youngest men’s final in the open era, the Spaniard becomes the youngest Grand Slam champion since Rafael Nadal won his maiden French Open championship 17 years ago as well as the youngest at the US Open since Pete Sampras in 1990.
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