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Carlos Alcaraz breaks epic 66-year-old streak to script world record as defending champion learns US Open fate
The top seed Alcaraz, who is aiming for his third Grand Slam title, has been handed a tricky draw at the 2023 US Open
Carlos Alcaraz heads to the final Grand Slam of the year, aiming to accomplish a challenge he has never faced before, but is certain to face many a times in his career ahead. When the Spaniard will begin his journey from Monday onwards in the main draw of the US Open at the USTA National Billie Jean King Tennis Centre, Alcaraz will be defending a Grand Slam championship title for the first time in his career. But having learned his fate in the US Open draw, and by virtue of his result in the Cincinnati Open last week, Alcaraz has not just scripted an Open Era record, but also broken a 66-year-old streak at New York.
Bouncing back from the shock early exit in Montreal, Alcaraz reached the final in Cincinnati Open last week and hence reached his end of the bargain in retaining the world No. 1 rank amid the constant threat from Novak Djokovic. Irrespective of the result in final, where he lost an intense three-setter against the Serb, Alcaraz gained the top seed at US Open.
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The Spaniard, who will be 20 years and 115 days old when the main draw kicks off from Monday onwards at the Flushing Meadows, is slated to be the youngest ever men's No. 1 seed in US Open history. The record was previously belonged to Ashley Cooper, who was the No. 1 seed at the 1957 US Open at 20 years and 349 days old. The former Australian tennis player, a winner of four Grand Slam titles in his career, had reached the final in that year's US Open event but lost the final to his compatriot Mal Anderson. There were only two players who came close to breaking the streak - Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 and Bjorn Borg in 1977. Both the players were 21 when they achieved the feat.
Tricky draw for Carlos Alcaraz
The top seed Alcaraz, who is aiming for his third Grand Slam title, will be opening his campaign against Dominik Koepfer and is seeded to face 16th seed Cameron Norrie in the fourth round with a likely repeat of the epic clash from last year against Jannik Sinner in the quarters on the cards. The 20-year-old also has third seed Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open winner, in the same half of the draw.
Alcaraz, who lost to Novak Djokovic last week in the intense Cincinnati Open final, could only face the Serb, seeded second, in the final.
