Wimbledon win given a reminder as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz aims to alter US Open 'curse'

In the 21st century, only one man has successfully defended the US Open men's title - Roger Federer - back in 2008

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain warms up prior to a practice session ahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2023 (Getty Images via AFP)

"Carlos Alcaraz is just 20 years old," stressed Somdev Devvarman, an Olympian and former Indian No. 1, in sheer amazement, not once, but thrice during his half an hour long interaction with the media on Saturday afternoon. Exactly a year after solidifying claims that he is the one true successor to the famed Big Three of men's tennis, Alcaraz is back to where it all began for the Spanish tennis prodigy. And while the reigning Wimbledon champion has achieved some notable victories in his short career already and won some big titles, the challenges he is set to face over the next fortnight in New York are unprecedented. In addition to holding on to his world No. 1 ranking, a position he had first claimed last year by virtue of his maiden major, Alcaraz will also be aiming to break the long-standing US Open curse as he looks to defend his crown.

In the 21st century, only one man has successfully defended the US Open men's title - Roger Federer - back in 2008. And it came on four consecutive occasions between 2004 and 2008 when the Swiss maestro won the title five times. He never won it again in his career, despite having reached the final on two more occasions (2009 and 2015). But why has it been so difficult to retain the crown in the final Slam of the calendar year?

Of the 23 editions of US Open held in this century, the tournament has witnessed 14 different champions hence making it the most unpredictable or open Slams in a calendar year. During this period, the usual suspects in the Federer (5), Rafael Nadal (4) and Novak Djokovic (3) stand atop with most US Open crowns. But amid them, disrupting the Big Three's rhythm, stand 11 others. While the likes of Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick claimed the trophy, respectively, before Federer's run in 2004, Juan Martín del Potro, who had ended the 42-year-old's streak in 2009, Andy Murray (2012), Marin Cilic (2014), Stan Wawrinka (2015), Dominic Thiem (2020), Daniil Medvedev (2021) and Alcaraz also feature on the list.

In the 23 editions of US Open held in this century, the usual suspects in the Federer (5), Rafael Nadal (4) and Novak Djokovic (3) stand atop with most titles

Now if we compare it with the remaining three Grand Slams, there is more uniformity in the winner's list with Djokovic and Federer sharing the credentials in Melbourne and London while Nadal holds the fort at Roland Garros. In the Australian Open, after Andre Agassi defended his title in 2001, Federer did it twice in his career (2007 and 2018) while Djokovic pulled it off five times (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020, 2021). In Wimbledon, Federer retained his title four times (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) while Djokovic failed to emulate his Melbourne record of five (2015, 2019, 2021, 2022) as he was stopped by Alcaraz in the final last month. And in the French Open, after Gustavo Kuerten defended his title once (2001), Nadal did it 10 times in his illustrious career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020).

While the stats reveal why the US Open has an added intrigue among fans across the globe, one possible reason for the varied result in New York could be down to fatigue. There is little or no gap between the clay and grass court season and is immediately followed by the dual Masters event in Canada and Cincinnati before the players are left with a week to recover for the Open.

Alcaraz knows what it takes to defend a title, having done so at a Masters 1000 level in Madrid earlier this year after failing to tick the box in Miami Open, but the Grand Slams are always a million notch higher. And with the self-proclaimed claim that "I'm a better player than a year ago", amid his stellar Wimbledon win in five-sets against Djokovic and going toe-to-toe with the legend in the Cincinnati final last week, the expectations are sky high as Alcaraz arrives in New York.

Alcaraz will begin his US Open 2023 campaign on late Tuesday night against Dominik Koepfer at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Somdev, who was made aware of the US Open curse, is confident that with the "right people" around him and the conviction he has on his gameplan, Alcaraz can break the duck.

"The one thing I've noticed about Alcaraz is that he is never unsure about himself; he carries a lot of humility, and I think he has these traits because he has a fantastic team around him; they have watched him grow and prepared him for the big stages since he was 14 years old. Success came sooner than expected for him, where he played some amazing games and went on to win the US Open back in 2022, and he was continuing that same form in 2023 as well. When it comes to Alcaraz, we should accept that the guy is surrounded by the right people. I have to add that the guy is confident about himself, but one should not mistake that for overconfidence. He is a very easy-going person, and he is lovely to watch when he plays," he said.

Alcaraz has been a tad bit erratic in his preparation for the US Open. After suffering a shock second-round exit in Montreal, Alcaraz bounced back in Ohio to reach the final, but en route, he seemed to play with fire having stretched each of his matches by a set extra.

The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medalist then served a reminder of that Wimbledon win explaining that Alcaraz has shown that he can deal with adversity, as he bounced back from his French Open loss to Djokovic to beat the Serb in London. Admitting that the Spaniard has been handed a tricky draw with the likes of Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Medvedev in his draw, Somdev feels that he will remain the favourite to make the final.

"He is just 20 years old. A two-time Grand Slam champion. A defending champion here in New York. I think it is fair to say that he is better this year than he was last year coming in. So let's just be realistic about our expectations from this guy. I also won't say that the last two weeks have been erratic. Yes not the greatest match against Tommy Paul, but then it was an incredible match against Djokovic in Cincinnati. The thing about Alcaraz is that he is an incredibly quick learner. We have seen how he has dealt with adversity in this year itself when he went down in the French Open semis against Djokovic and came back to beat him in Wimbledon. That says a lot about his character. He is in the tough section of the draw with the top half looking a lot heavier than the bottom. But every time he steps on the court at the Open he will be favourite," he said in reply to a Hindustan Times query.

Alcaraz will begin his campaign on late Tuesday night against Dominik Koepfer at Arthur Ashe Stadium.