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Carlos Alcaraz, the “little titan” on fast-forward mode
Carlos Alcaraz, at 22, becomes the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam, showcasing remarkable skill and dedication in tennis history.
Mumbai: Seated between the shining Australian Open trophy he’s had to wait to lay his hands on and a glass of sparkling champagne waiting to be finished, Carlos Alcaraz let out a big laugh.
“I’m trying, I’m trying,” he said, when asked whether he could fully grasp the magnitude of what he had achieved at his age.
Tennis for him is “beautiful”, but the “bad part” also is that its packed calendar doesn’t allow the time for those who play it to fully realise what they’ve been able to do sometimes.
For now, Alcaraz gets the gist: “I know I’m doing history.”
Sure, but it’s history with staggeringly swift steps. It’s history that, in the cold world of numbers, puts to shade even the sport-altering records of the Big Three.
Those three titans have been, individually and collectively, the benchmark of men’s tennis. Now a “little titan”, as Big Three torchbearer Novak Djokovic termed Alcaraz, is vaulting over at jaw-dropping velocity.
Rafael Nadal was 24 years and 102 days old when he scripted the career Grand Slam. Roger Federer (27 years, 303 days) and Djokovic (29 years, 15 days) were much older. Alcaraz did it at 22 years, 272 days on Sunday, the youngest man ever to complete the full set in tennis history.
Yet, age is one thing. The number of attempts to crack the vagaries of the four Slams through the season across three different surfaces is quite another.
It took Alcaraz just his 20th main draw Slam appearance to conquer all of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Nadal needed 26, Federer 40, and Djokovic 46.
Alcaraz took four years to go from capturing his first major to pocketing all four at least once (2022 US Open to 2026 Australian Open). Nadal took five years (2005 French Open to 2010 US Open), Federer six (2003 Wimbledon to 2009 French Open), and Djokovic eight (2008 Australian Open to 2016 French Open).
This is where the freak of Alcaraz stands out. At 22, into only his sixth season of competing in these major stages, the Spaniard carries a high quality all-round, all-court, all-Slam game that most pros can’t find through their careers.
“He has everything, the whole package,” said Djokovic.
Yet, it’s one thing to have the whole package, and quite another to constantly refine it. This is where the dedication of Alcaraz stands out.
Cast your mind back to the 2023 French Open, Alcaraz’s first Slam outing after becoming its newly-minted champion. Playing Djokovic in the semi-final as the top seed who had blazed through the five rounds, the then 20-year-old began to cramp after levelling the match at one set apiece. Forfeiting his service game at 1-1 in the third set to receive immediate treatment, Alcaraz won just one game from there to lose the last two sets 6-1, 6-1.
Compare that to how he handled the cramp situation against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of this Australian Open, and it’s a testament to his mental and physical evolution.
He’s also constantly looking to evolve facets of his game. And thus, even after putting on a serving masterclass en route to winning last year’s US Open, Alcaraz chose to tweak his service motion in the off-season.
“He has improved physically, mentally, game wise. He is constantly looking to innovate himself in his game. Which is exactly the kind of mentality that needs to be nurtured for a champion,” said Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion. “It’s never enough in terms of settling with your game. You have to progress, otherwise you regress.”
Alcaraz sure is progressing. And he doesn’t want to stop, even if he wrote “Job completed!” on X after his Australian achievement. The 38-year-old Djokovic, whose service motion he mirrored, is also an inspiration to him. To not be content at any stage of the career.
“Well, I hate to lose. So that’s my motivation. Trying to lose as less as I can,” said Alcaraz of his future goals. “There are also some tournaments that I want to win at least once, a few Masters 1000. I want to complete all the Masters 1000, and the ATP Finals, and the Davis Cup.”
At the pace with which he’s scaling new heights, there could be no ceiling to Alcaraz’s vaulting ways. Around the Big Three benchmark and beyond.
“A legendary tennis player that has already made a huge mark in the history books of tennis,” said Djokovic. “I mean, he’s only 22. It’s unbelievable. Everything is possible in his case, no question about it.”
