LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz not only overpowered Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final on Sunday, the charismatic Spaniard’s fourth Grand Slam triumph confirmed a generational shift in men’s tennis.
He has won three of the last five majors, joining Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker and Mats Wilander as the only men to win four majors aged 21 or younger.
That’s a feat that surpassed even Djokovic, the retired Roger Federer and the injured Rafael Nadal, three men who amassed 66 Grand Slams in a golden age that appeared to have ended with the 37-year-old Serb’s defeat. Sunday.
Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero once predicted that his compatriot would win 30 Grand Slams.
He already has a comfortable lead.
Djokovic has 24 Slams to his credit, but after winning his first at the 2008 Australian Open as a 20-year-old, he had to wait another three years for his second.
Federer, who finished his career at 20 Slams, managed the 2003 Wimbledon title as a 21-year-old.
Alcaraz’s compatriot Nadal, holder of 22 majors, had three in 21 – all at the 2005, 2006 and 2007 French Opens.
Alcaraz’s Grand Slam haul currently includes the 2022 US Open, the 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon titles and last month’s French Open triumph.
He has yet to lose a Slam final and is only the sixth man to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back.
His victory in Paris last month made him the youngest man to win a major on all three surfaces – clay, hard and grass – and could move to six Slams by the time he turns 22 next May.
Should he triumph in Australia for the first time, he would unseat Nadal as the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.
“Normally I call Federer the best player of all time and it has nothing to do with statistics or results,” Wilander told eurosport.com.
“It has to do with what he meant to the sport, the expectations people had. Carlos Alcaraz is going through the same thing.”
Much has been made of the new rivalry between Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the bean-pole Italian who won Djokovic’s Australian Open title and world No. 1 this year.
However, Alcaraz is 21 months younger and has a better Slam record than Sinner, who won his first Slam in January.
Alcaraz has a 5-4 lead over Sinner, including a five-set semi-final triumph at Roland Garros this year.
“What he’s doing when he won the title at Roland Garros, switching switchers to prepare on grass to get to the final, is scandalous,” Ferrero said.
Alcaraz, who hails from the small Murcia town of El Palmar in southeastern Spain, hit a huge jackpot in Madrid 2022 when he became the only man to beat both Nadal and Djokovic on the same clay court.
“Carlos’ intensity and speed is something you rarely see,” said Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach Toni Nadal.
“His game follows the same path as Rafa – he never gives up until the last ball and has that characteristic intensity.”
Nadal, who will play doubles with Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics, acted as his mentor, pleading with fans not to pressure his young compatriot with bold comparisons.
