Carlos Alcaraz: The newly crowned world No 1 who took US Open by storm

It was a night to remember for 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz as he defeated Casper Ruud in the final to claim his maiden US Open title on Sunday. The youngster from Spain maintained his calm at his first ever Grand Slam final and as a result of the victory, became the youngest World No 1 in history.

It has been a mercurial rise to fame for Alvarez who has proven his mettle – both through skill and determination. With a total of 23 hours and 40 minutes on court, he broke the conventional stigma surrounding younger players and their inability to finish the match when taken to five sets.

Since the age of 17, Alcaraz was considered a special talent by a number of people in Spain, and he even earned top praise from Tony Nadal. He went on to compare Alcaraz to Rafael Nadal when it comes to the path of their careers and also the intensity both players show on the court.

"Carlos' intensity and speed is something you rarely see. His game follows the same path as Rafa; he never gives up until the last ball and has that characteristic intensity," Toni Nadal told AFP.

However, the journey was not without its fair share of ups and downs. Alcaraz started his training at the at the Real Sociedad Club de Campo de Murcia where his father was the tennis academy director and later, joined Juan Carlos Ferrero's Equelite JC Ferrero Sport Academy at the age of 16.

The new training regime worked wonders for the youngster as he became the youngest participant in the 2018 Australian Open and even made it to the second round. The connection with Nadal also continued in an odd way as he broke the veteran’s record for being the youngest match winner at the Madrid Open that year. In 2021, he also became the youngest to break into the ATP top 100.

The magical run continued as he defeated world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in a fifth-set tiebreak at last year’s US Open. He even became one of the youngest players to reach the quarterfinal stage of the competition, but a leg injury ended his campaign with a loss against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The injury, however, was not able to keep him out for long as he continued to make significant gains as he defeated Tsitsipas once again at the Barcelona Open and went on to claim his first Masters 1000 title by defeating Casper Ruud. The victory earned him a lot of praise – even from Rafael Nadal.

Finally, a day after his 19th birthday, he registered a famous win over Nadal at the Madrid Open as he became the first teenager to beat him on clay. In the very next match, he went up against Novak Djokovic and although there were some hiccups, he prevailed with a sensational victory.

The first three Grand Slams saw Alcaraz make the third or fourth rounds but failing to capitalise on the gains. However, it all changed at the US Open. With no Djokovic and Nadal struggling with his fitness, the field was wide open and Alcaraz seemed like the dark horse with his gritty gameplay.

With wins over Sebastian Baez, Federico Coria and Jenson Brooksby, he cruised into the fourth round. The next two matches against Marin Cilic and Janik Sinner both went to the fifth set, but there was no stopping the young sensation. While most experts felt that he may burn out due to the marathon matches, Alcaraz proved his talent once again as he dominated proceedings against Ruud.

Despite losing a set, he hardly looked uncomfortable against his Norwegian opponent and with the No 1 crown already on his head, it will be interesting to see the heights that await him in the future.