Carlos Alcaraz breaks ATP top 20, climbs nearly 400 spots in two years
Carlos Alcaraz secured his first ATP tour level match win at Rio 2020 as a 16-year-old, with two years of pro tennis bringing another huge moment for the youngster.
He has now clinched a second career title and broken into the top 20 for the first time after the same event in 2022, almost exactly two years later.
That on top of the news that Alcaraz is also the youngest man to win an ATP 500 tournament since the category was introduced in 2009.
The Spaniard was ranked 406th in the world when he ousted compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas at the 2020 Rio Open for his first ATP victory.
The teen had not even won an ATP Challenger title to that point and had only played six events at that level up until that time.
The 18-year-old is now ranked 20th in the world after defeating Diego Schwartzman to life the title in Rio in his first appearance there since that memorable day in 2020.
As such, Alcaraz has risen an astonishing 386 ranking spots in just two years, and with a severely Covid-disrupted 2020 season soon after that 2020 Rio Open no less.
Rio 2020: 16-year-old Alcaraz wins first-ever ATP match
Rio 2022: 18-year-old Alcaraz becomes youngest ever ATP 500 champion
The story has only just begun for @alcarazcarlos03 ? pic.twitter.com/KcWkyyR4vI
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 20, 2022
Alcaraz has played just 59 tour level matches in his young career, but already boasts a 4-5 win-loss record against top 10 opponents.
Two of those four victories have come over world number six Matteo Berrettini, the second of which was in the quarter-finals of the Rio Open on the way to Alcaraz’s title.
The other two triumphs were over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round of the US Open last year and fellow Next Gen star Jannik Sinner in the second round of the Paris Masters in November.
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