Carlos Alcaraz is a certified tennis legend at the age of 22, having become the youngest player in tennis history to win the ‘Career Grand Slam’ in men’s singles events.
Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s Australian Open final, taking his Grand Slam total to seven.
Djokovic came out of the blocks hot, winning the first set 6-2. However, he was quickly pegged back by Alcaraz, who won the next three sets 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.
Alcaraz, who also equalled a record held by Bjorn Borg, now has the same number of Grand Slams as John McEnroe and Mats Wilander.
Which member of the ‘Big Three’ is Carlos Alcaraz most similar to? Let us know why below👇
Following Sunday’s contest, Serena Williams’s former coach has weighed in on Alcaraz’s ability to maintain his composure in the most pressurised situations on a tennis court.
Patrick Mouratogolou says ‘anyone else would have panicked’ after losing the first set to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final
Patrick Mouratoglou, who has also worked with Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep, has weighed in on Sunday’s final and the resilience Alcaraz showed to fight back from a set down against his Serbian opponent.
“You can find a million qualities to Alcaraz,” Mouratoglou said in an Instagram post. “If there is one that is bigger than anything else, it’s how much he is an incredible competitor who finds solutions in the worst situations. He doesn’t need to play great to win.
“What I can say about the men’s final is, when I see the first set, I tell you: ‘Novak is going to win.’ Because when Novak is like this, nobody can resist.
“But after one set, you see that Carlos is still like this [pumped up]. You can feel that he’s going to find solutions.
Anyone else would have panicked: ‘my opponent, who is the best player of all time, is playing unbelievable. I will find a solution and I will win at the end.’
“He [Alcaraz] has this voice that tells him, ‘don’t worry.’ And I would say 99.9 per cent of players would have lost this final against Novak.
He is the best mental player of all time, but he didn’t win against Carlos because he felt at some point, ‘wow, he’s going to still challenge me every time, I’m completely exhausted physically, exhausted mentally. I played the perfect first set, that should put a lot of pressure on him. Instead of going down, he’s slowly coming up. He’s finding solutions.’
“You had two mental monsters in front of each other, it was not so much about the game. It was about who was going to give up here (head) and none of the guys gave up.
Do you believe Carlos Alcaraz is already the greatest tennis player of all time?
“So at the end, it was the most physically fit that won. There is no surprise to see that Carlos is already breaking a lot of records. He has the game, he has the level and he has this mental strength that is making such a difference.”
Alcaraz had been expected to defend his Rotterdam Open title following his Australian Open triumph. However, he has since withdrawn from the Dutch event, meaning his next tournament is scheduled to be the ATP 500 event in Doha – starting on February 16.
Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner are also on the entry list for the event.
Where does Carlos Alcaraz rank among the all-time greats?
Carlos Alcaraz has already triggered discussions regarding where he will sit among the greats when his career is finished.
At 22 years old, the Spaniard has won seven Grand Slams – more than any other player at that age in tennis history.
Nadal won six before the age of 23, while Federer won three. Djokovic, considered by many to be the greatest player in tennis history, won one title before he was 23.
| Number of Slams | Player |
| 24 | Novak Djokovic |
| 22 | Rafael Nadal |
| 20 | Roger Federer |
| 14 | Pete Sampras |
| 12 | Roy Emerson |
| 11 | Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg |
| 10 | Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Ken Rosewall |
| 8 | Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi |
| 7 | Carlos Alcaraz, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander |
If the Spaniard can continue to win Grand Slams at his current rate, there is no telling how many he will have to his name a decade down the line.
