Tennis discovers a new champ | Sunday Observer

Tennis discovers a new champ

18 September, 2022
Roger Federer
Roger Federer

He has been compared to Roger Federer by his coach. And his mix of talents, according to Rafael Nadal, are like the ingredients of a good salad.

There are many ways to describe Carlos Alcaraz - but there is no doubt that the Spaniard has arrived at the top of world tennis.

Having won the US Open on Sunday, the Spaniard has now become the youngest world number one in the history of men’s tennis.

The 19-year-old is also the youngest male Grand Slam champion since compatriot Nadal won the French Open in 2005.

Born in Murcia, Alcaraz was always likely to play tennis - as his father, Carlos senior, was academy director at a club in the city. However his talent soon turned heads, and in 2018 he began playing at an academy run by Spain’s former French Open champion and world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has since become Alcaraz’s coach.

The young hopeful was 16 when he made his ATP main draw debut in February 2020, at the Rio Open. He defeated tour veteran Albert Ramos Vinolas in round one: the tennis world took note.

In the two and a half years between that win in Rio and his Grand Slam title triumph in New York, Alcaraz firmly established his reputation. He won the Next Gen ATP Finals towards the end of 2021, then broke into the world’s top 20 in February as he became the youngest winner of an ATP 500 event by taking the Rio Open title. (BBC Sport)

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