Carlos Alcaraz has admitted that he has done something throughout this US Open run that even surprised himself.
He is just that good.
It has been a mesmerising two weeks of tennis for the young Spaniard, who came into the event as a heavy favourite to reach the final.
However, most then expected his run to be cut short by Jannik Sinner, given he has been the dominant force on hard courts for two years now.
Carlos Alcaraz was clearly not in the mood to follow the script though, and threw every single type of shot at the world number one on his way to victory.
That being said, there was one area of his game that reigned supreme throughout the whole tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz admits the level of his serve even surprised himself
Speaking on ESPN earlier tonight, he was actually asked about that shot and how it helped him cruise to this title.
Alcaraz admitted: “With my team and myself, we realised how important the serve is nowadays.
“I think every player is playing faster, is playing harder. The return is something that everyone has improved a lot, so I had to improve my serve if I wanted to win or be in good positions.
“It is something that I have paid so much attention to, and I am really happy that in this tournament I served unbelievably.
“I was only broken three times, so it’s something that I didn’t expect to be honest. But I would say thanks to that, it helped me a lot to go to the return games with no pressure at all, playing with joy and no pressure because I felt really comfortable, and the confidence was really high with the serve.”
And yet, despite his dominance, Patrick McEnroe still admitted that he was surprised by Alcaraz’s game plan during the US Open final.
Carlos Alcaraz’s serving performance at the US Open
Alcaraz’s serve was, to the naked eye, firing on all cylinders, all tournament.
However, there are so many figures that back up what was a supreme performance in a crucial area for the 22-year-old, which lasted throughout the entire event.
One of the most important came from X account Jeu, Set et Maths, who noted that his victory at the US Open marks the fewest number of break points faced en route to a Major title.
His ten surpassed the previous record, held by Roger Federer, with 12.
And then, comparing the number of breaks he suffered throughout the event to his other Grand Slam title-winning campaigns, and the elevation in level is clear.
Before this US Open, his best serving tournament came during the 2023 Wimbledon run, where he was broken just 11 times.
In New York over the past two weeks, he was broken just three times.
