Carlos Alcaraz will begin his conquest for a second US Open title this year, and should be feeling as confident as ever after his recent form.
After all, despite losing the Wimbledon final last month, he instantly returned to form at the Cincinnati Open, storming to the title, despite the final having been cut short due to Jannik Sinner’s retirement.
It is this illness which has also reinforced the resurgence of the Spaniard, giving many hope that he could topple the hard-court menace that is the world number one.
If he were to win the US Open this year, it’d give him a golden opportunity to follow in the legendary footsteps of two of America’s best-ever: Jimmy Connors and Andy Roddick.
Carlos Alcaraz seeking to emulate Andy Roddick and Jimmy Connors
After all, they too shared a key similarity with Carlos Alcaraz and overcame the obstacles needed, under huge pressure to deliver.
All three of them have spent the bulk of the years they won the US Open as the world number two.
In 1982, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl were at odds for the top-ranked spot in men’s tennis, and yet when Connors won the US Open, he recaptured it over both of them before later surrendering it before the year was up.
Similarly, in 2003, Roddick rose from tenth at the start of the year to first after winning the US Open, and held it to become the year-end world number one too.
After winning the Cincinnati Open, and given how many points he now has to defend compared to last year’s champion, Sinner, if Alcaraz wins the 2025 US Open, he would reclaim top spot in the ATP rankings just like these two legendary Americans.
Ironically, Jimmy Connors saw Alcaraz do something before the Wimbledon final this year he never would, offering advice to the youngster on track to surpass his legacy.
What did Carlos Alcaraz say after winning his first-ever Grand Slam title at the US Open?
Alcaraz stunned the world when he won his first-ever Grand Slam title back in 2022, where he actually achieved the feat he could mimic again this year.
There, he stole the world number one spot from Novak Djokovic and became the youngest-ever year-end world number one in Open Era history.
Speaking after that triumph, the teenage superstar admitted: “This is something which I dreamt of since I was a kid, being number one in the world and a champion of a Grand Slam.
“It is something I have worked very hard for. It is really, really special.”
People then pondered just how many more might come his way. Four more Grand Slam titles later, and we are still unsure just how many this titles young superstar could finish his sparkling career with.
