Carlos Alcaraz has already broken several records at just 21
Carlos Alcaraz has already broken several records at just 21. The young Spaniard won four Slams and five Masters 1000, as well as being the world’s number 1 for a total of 36 weeks. Carlitos became the youngest ever to make the French Open-Wimbledon pairing in the same year, losing to Novak Djokovic in the Championships final.
The 21-year-old from Murcia wants to keep improving and has repeatedly admitted that he wants to become one of the best ever. After a few days of relaxation, Alcaraz has already resumed training on red clay in view of the Paris Olympics. The tournament will take place on the red clay of the French Open and the Spanish will be one of the great favorites for the gold medal.
Former world number 1 will also play doubles alongside 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, who is currently competing in the Bastad tournament. Although Jannik Sinner is still the world’s number 1, many fans and insiders still regard Alcaraz as the true king of men’s tennis.
Wilander warns Carlitos
Carlos has demonstrated versatility and an extraordinary ability to win major tournaments on multiple different surfaces, while Sinner is still a step behind this point of view. The Italian was eliminated by Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. During a long interview with L’Equipe, former ATP ace Mats Wilander opened up on Carlos Alcaraz’s rise: “Carlos Alcaraz is now the third youngest player to win four Grand Slams, behind me and Bjorn Borg.
But what happened to us? At 25, Bjorn and I broke down and almost ended our careers. It’s not so surprising that he won at a very young age: he was already very strong mentally when he was a kid, then a teenager. But this Wimbledon title is an explosion. It’s as if the hardest part has just begun for him. In fact, he should almost not react to this achievement. He should not realise what he’s accomplishing. He’s going to have to answer a whole bunch of questions: What do I want to accomplish? Win as many Grand Slams as possible? Stay No 1 for fifteen years in a row? Still be competitive at 37? Achieve the calendar Grand Slam?”
Although he has already won a lot, Alcaraz still has several ups and downs during the season. Last year – after winning his first Wimbledon – his level had dropped abruptly and he hadn’t won a title for eight months (until Indian Wells 2024).
Alcaraz has just begun
Carlitos remains humble despite his popularity and maintains a wonderful relationship with all members of his family. “I live with my mum and dad, my older brother and two younger brothers. To them I am not a big tennis star, just a normal guy,” he explained in a recent interview.
“One of the things about tennis is that you travel a lot and my dad and older brother come with me. My older brother is my hitting partner. But Mum can’t come because she is looking after the two little ones. So getting home is great because I miss them. The longer you are away, the more you realise how much you need them” – the Spaniard added.
He concluded: “But the times that you are not here in the tournaments supporting me in real life, I know that you are supporting me from the TV at home so all the support that you are giving to me, it’s amazing. Since I was a little kid, as I said many times, I was running from school to put the TV on to watch the tournaments on the TV, now I am lifting the trophy in front of all of you. So thank you very much for everything and all the journey.
I’m really grateful to have the team that I have, the people that I have around and I know that everyone in my team is giving their heart just to make me improve as a player, as a person, to grow up. So I’m really grateful and I call you a team but it’s a family so thank you very much.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion will try to regain the top of the ATP ranking in the second half of the season. Carlitos will have to defend the final in Cincinnati and the semi-final at the US Open, but Italian ace Jannik Sinner will have many more points to defend than the Spaniard during the autumn. The 21-year-old from Murcia did not shine in the latter part of last season, with several unexpected defeats on the indoor hard court.
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