Carlos Alcaraz with the year-end world No. 1 trophy (Twitter)
The 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz had a dream of a season in 2022 and in this article, we will take a closer look at how it exactly transpired.
Carlos Alcaraz made his ATP main-draw debut at the age of 16 in the 2020 Rio Open. Since then, he continued showcasing his talent in various tournaments. However, the year 2022 has been pathbreaking for the youngster who has done justice to the immense talent that fans and critics thought he possessed. The journey has begun but there is still a long way to go. Alcaraz’s calm demeanor and groundedness will hold him in good stead on the journey.
Alcaraz ended 2021 on a fine note by winning the Next Gen ATP Final with relative ease. At the 2022 Australian Open, Alcaraz made it to the third round, where he lost to Matteo Berrettini. The Spaniard bagged his first title of the year by winning the Rio Open. He defeated Diego Schwartzman in the final. At the BNP Paribas Open, Alcaraz lost to his idol, Rafael Nadal, in the semis, but not without giving a good account of himself.
Alcaraz captured his first Masters 1000 title by defeating Casper Ruud in the Miami Open final. He became the youngest player to win the title in the tournament’s history.
After a disappointing second-round exit at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz won the Barcelona Open by defeating fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the final.
Alcaraz secured a huge win when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open. He became the first teenager to defeat Nadal on clay. The 19-year-old went on to defeat another legend, Novak Djokovic, in the semifinal. With a win against Alexander Zverev in the final, Alcaraz became the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.
Alcaraz suffered an ankle injury and was forced to withdraw from the Italian Open. He competed at the French Open and reached the quarterfinals. However, his run in the tournament ended there as he lost to Zverev. Looking to win his first Grand Slam title, Alcaraz competed at Wimbledon but could not progress beyond the round of 16.
Alcaraz reached the finals at the German Open and the Croatia Open but lost to Lorenzo Musetti and Jannik Sinner, respectively. He lost in the round of 32 at the Canadian Open and the quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open.
Alcaraz finally struck gold at the Grand Slam level when he won the US Open. The Spanish sensation had to work very hard in his matches in the latter stages of the tournament.
In the final, Norwegian Casper Ruud locked horns with Alcaraz in what promised to be an intriguing affair. The winner of that match was also going to be the new No. 1 ranked player in the ATP rankings. Alcaraz defeated Ruud in four sets to become the youngest No. 1 in the history of the ATP rankings at the age of 19 years, 4 months, and 6 days, breaking Lleyton Hewitt’s record.
Alcaraz had a stutter-filled start to his reign as the world No. 1. He lost his singles match at the 2022 Davis Cup Finals against Felix Auger-Aliassime. He also lost to David Goffin in the Astana Open in his opening round.
Alcaraz made it to the semifinals in Basel but once again, he was defeated by a rampaging Felix Auger-Aliassime, comprehensively.
Alcaraz played his last match of the season against Holger Rune in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters. The former retired while being a set down against the Danish youngster. The following day, Alcaraz announced that he had suffered an abdominal tear that would result in him missing six weeks of action. This effectively ended his season earlier than he would have liked. Alcaraz had to pull out of the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals but he can be proud of his majestic performances this season.
Alcaraz ended the season with 57 wins and 13 losses. He bagged 5 titles in the season and earned prize money of $7,626,613. He finished as the year-end world No. 1.
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