Carlos Alcaraz (ATP Tour - Twitter)
Carlos Alcaraz has written his name in the history books as he won his first Grand Slam title at just 19. He defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3.
By virtue of the win, Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the sport after the ATP rankings system began in 1973. He replaces the 2021 US Open champion, Daniil Medvedev.
The exhilarating Spaniard began the match with a bag and won the first set before being outplayed by the Norwegian in the second. The 19-year-old managed to bag a closely-contested third set and it took the wind out of the sails of his opponent. The fourth set was all about Alcaraz as he outplayed the 23-year-old.
Alcaraz won his fifth title in 2022 while Ruud lost his second Grand Slam final. The Spaniard fired in 14 aces compared to just 4 from Ruud. Alcaraz is the youngest Grand Slam champion since Rafael Nadal in 2005 at the French Open and the youngest at US Open since Pete Sampras in 1990. He also spent 23 hours and 39 minutes on the court, which is more than any other player in major history.
An ecstatic and emotional Alcaraz remembered his mother and grandmother after the win. He said: “Firstly, I want to talk about today. I want to say my thoughts are with you on this day. It is never easy to live this day like a normal one. My thoughts are with everyone.
“This is something I dreamt of – winning a Grand Slam, World No 1. This is something I worked towards. It is tough to talk about it. A lot of emotions. This is something I tried to work on with my family. This is really, really special for me
I was thinking about my mom. She’s not here and my grandfather. A lot of family are here but a lot of family couldn’t come. I was just thinking about them.
“A little bit tired now! It is no time to be tired in the final week of a Grand Slam. You have to work hard and give everything on the court.”
The Norwegian sensation Casper Ruud was outplayed by another Spaniard – Rafael Nadal in the 2022 French Open final. After this loss, he said that being number two isn’t too bad and he will continue chasing his dreams of becoming a Grand Slam champion and the top-ranked player.
We knew what we were playing for, we knew what was at stake,” said Ruud. “Number two is not too bad either. I will continue to chase for my first Grand Slam and the number one world ranking.”
The tennis fans on Twitter hailed Carlos Alcaraz for his resounding performance in the final and the overall performance throughout the tournament. The youngster deserves all the praise coming his way as he didn’t let the pressure get the better of him when his back was against the wall at various moments in his last few matches.
The 19-year-old won his first title of 2022 at the Rio Open. He followed it up with another win at the Miami Open. The great run of form continued in the Barcelona Open where he dominated his matches and notched up another championship win. The fourth title he won this year till now came at the Madrid Open. He also lost in two finals this year. With a total of 51 wins thus far, he leads the charts for most wins on the ATP tour this year.
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