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Carlos Alcaraz

Nadal and Alcaraz Come Out Ahead By Skipping Monte Carlo

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BY JAMES BECK

Rafa Nadal was the smart one. Of course, along with Carlos Alcaraz.

They skipped Monte Carlo.

Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas didn’t. And they took their medicine.

Elimination before the quarterfinals ended.

Jannik Sinner probably is singing the Italian fight song. The tall, thin Italian looks more dangerous every time he step on a tennis court. He just needs to win one of the big ones to possibly take off and fly away with a Grand Slam title.

IS ALCARAZ THE BEST?

Looking at the situation, I would say at this point of the season, Alcaraz probably is the best player in the world, followed by Medvedev and Sinner.

What? No Djokovic or Nadal up top.

If you listen to one of the broadcasters/announcers in Monte Carlo, Djokovic is in a tennis world above everyone else.  After Djokovic’s loss in Monte Carlo, the announcer called Djokovic the “greatest tennis player in history.”

Don’t tell Rod Laver, Roger Federer or Nadal.

Yes, they all are or were great.

WATCH OUT FOR THE TOP 5

Djokovic and Nadal are my Nos. 4s. And Tsitsipas is No. 6.

I expect the top five of those to dominate Europe’s two Grand Slams.

I’m probably not alone.

Of course, there’s Taylor Fritz of the U.S., Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune and new threat (Djokovic beater) Lorenzo Musetti waiting around to make their move into the elite group.

That’s a dozen players to watch.

PROPERTY CHANGING HANDS?

The European red clay and grass seasons may no longer be the property of Nadal and Djokovic.

These are new seasons filled with players that still have to make a true mark on the pro tour.

Casper Ruud, along with veteran Grand Slam tournament winners Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka  and Dominic Thiem, and veterans Grigor Dimitrov, Diego Schwartzman, Karen Khachonov, Hubert Hurkacz and even Richard Gasquet are worth an upset or two, but probably not dangerous enough to reach into the last 16.

Of course, it all probably comes back to those top six or better yet top five, four of whom have  won Grand Slam titles within the last two years.

Oh, Oh! Don’t forget Nick Kyrgios.

The most talented guy on the planet can’t be overlooked. That is, if Nick’s injured knee gets the green light in Europe.

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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award as the tennis columnist for the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier newspapers. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal

Medvedev Challenges Alcaraz Dominance

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BY JAMES BECK

Watch out men’s tennis.

Here comes Daniil Medvedev.

So, the men’s tour doesn’t belong to Carlos Alcaraz just yet.

Medvedev may not look that great as a tennis player, but just watch his tenacity and strategy. He plays to win, and he does just that most of the time.

He can be forgiven for losing to Alcaraz two weeks earlier in the Indian Wells final when you look at what he did in Miami.

DANIIL BEATS THE HEAT AND SINNER

Medvedev beat the heat all week and then withstood the bullets of Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s final. He’s tennis’ hottest player right now with a 24-1 record in his last 25 matches.

Even Alcaraz can’t top that, although the Spanish Wonder’s ATP points total is right below No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic’s.

Medvedev double-faults his share of the time, but he blasts aces just about as often on second serves. The slender Russian hits winners almost at will while playing a cat-and-mouse rallying game with his opponents.

HELP FROM SINNER

Of course, Medvedev had some help from Sinner in Miami.  Sinner wore out the acrobatic Acaraz in the semifinals, and wore out himself in the process.

So, not only are Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, along with Acaraz, Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas key players to watch in the European clay-court season, it may be time for the 27-year-old Medvedev to nail down a Grand Slam title other than the one he earned at the 2021 U.S. Open.

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ON RED CLAY

Another Alcaraz-like might even burst on the scene in Europe. Or maybe Americans Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul or Frances Tiafoe might make their mark on the red clay.

Anything seems to be possible, with Djokovic still a little unpredictable, and Nadal and Alcaraz sometimes one bad step away from an injury.

Who would have thought at the start of 2022 that a young man named Alcaraz would become  the world-wide heart-throb of men’s tennis in such a short time.

YES, CARLOS ALCARAZ HAS FLAWS

Of course, Alcaraz has flaws.

He still has to learn that tennis isn’t soccer or football.

Diving for loose balls all over the court makes no sense at all. Except maybe on Wimbledon’s grass.

And certainly not on the hard courts of Miami.

He makes landing on two hands and his toes, or maybe two arms and two knees look spectacular. But the only thing that does is threaten his career. Of course, he doesn’t win many of those points.

The football fans among the crowd love Alcaraz for those stunts. Alcaraz still needs to grow up by the time he reaches 20 years old.

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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award  for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

Daniil Medvedev

Carlos Alcaraz Wins Indian Wells To Return To No. 1

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Carlos Alcaraz made more history at the BNP Paribas Open, where he became the ninth and youngest man to win both legs of the Sunshine Double. The 19-year-old was faultless throughout his run in Indian Wells, not dropping a set en route to his third ATP Masters 1000 crown.

The Spaniard, who defeated seeds Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, returned to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following his title triumph in the Californian desert.

“It feels amazing to lift the trophy here, to recover the No. 1 [ranking]. I would say this has been the perfect tournament,” reflected Alcaraz, who reached the 100 match wins milestone earlier in the week. “It was good for me, [at] this tournament that I really wanted to win, and for me, it’s amazing.”

Alcaraz joins countryman Rafael Nadal as the only players to win at least three Masters 1000 titles as a teenager, with Nadal having won six before turning 20. Holding a 14-1 record on the season, Alcaraz will turn his attention to the Miami Open presented by Itaú, where he will aim to maintain his red-hot form. To remain No. 1, Alcaraz must successfully defend his Miami title. Top 5 stars Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev also make the journey from California to south Florida as they try to stop Alcaraz from becoming the eighth player to complete the calendar-year Sunshine Double. Ruud lost to the Spaniard in last year’s Miami final, while Medvedev will be aiming to start a new winning streak after Alcaraz ended his 19-match unbeaten run in the Indian Wells title match.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz Assumes No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking

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Carlos Alcaraz today becomes the youngest World No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history (since 1973) after winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open Sunday.  

Alcaraz entered the 2021 US Open as the World No. 55. With his win against 23-year-old Casper Ruud in the championship clash in New York, the 19-year-old is the first teenage World No. 1 and the fourth man from Spain to achieve the feat, joining his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya, and Rafael Nadal.  

“It’s crazy for me. I’ve never thought that I was going to achieve something like that at 19 years old. So everything came so fast,” Alcaraz said. “For me it’s unbelievable. It’s something I dreamed since I was a kid, since I started playing tennis. Of course, lifting this trophy today is amazing for me.”
The Murcia-native arrived at Flushing Meadows as the No. 4 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. His leap to World No. 1 is tied for the biggest in history. Three other players have surged from No. 4 to No. 1 between one Pepperstone ATP Rankings release: Moya (15 March 1999), Andre Agassi (5 July 1999) and Pete Sampras (11 September 2000).   Alcaraz has rewritten the record books en route to the pinnacle of men’s tennis. Earlier this year he became the second-youngest player to win two ATP Masters 1000 titles (Miami and Madrid), only behind Nadal, who did so in 2005. Alcaraz also became the youngest ATP 500 titlist in series history in Rio de Janeiro and claimed another crown at that level in Barcelona.  

The 19-year-old leads the ATP Tour with 51 wins this season, moving him five victories clear of second-placed Stefanos Tsitsipas (46). With his US Open triumph, Alcaraz also climbed to first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, putting him in pole position to become the youngest year-end World No. 1 in history.  

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: ‘Carlos’ rise to the top of the sport has been nothing short of phenomenal. His game has reached incredible levels this year, capturing ATP Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid, and now capped off with a first Grand Slam title and becoming the youngest ever No. 1. His fearless tennis, work ethic and sportsmanship make him an inspiration for many and has raised the bar for tennis’ next era. Like so many of our fans, I’m excited to watch his incredible journey continue.’  

Alcaraz became the first player to reach the top of men’s tennis’ mountain the Monday after the US Open since his coach, Ferrero, ascended to No. 1 after the 2003 tournament. Alcaraz’s final against Ruud was the first men’s singles championship match at a Grand Slam in which both players who had never been World No. 1 were competing for the top spot.  

Alcaraz is the 28th player to reach World No. 1, making him the sixth active player to climb to the top spot. The teen joins Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Nadal, Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev, whom he replaced at the pinnacle.   Alcaraz (19) and Ruud (23) are the second-youngest Top 2 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, only trailing World No. 1 Jimmy Connors (22) and World No. 22 Bjorn Borg (18) in 1975. This is the first year since 2003 there have been two new World No. 1s in the same season (Medvedev and Alcaraz).  

Carlos Alcaraz Persists To Win 2022 U.S. Open

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Carlos Alcaraz won his first major singles title beating Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open, becoming the event’s second youngest men’s singles champion and in the process becoming the youngest man to clinch the world No. 1 ranking.

Alcaraz, at age 19 years, 4 months and 6 days, is only three months older than Pete Sampras, when he won the U.S. men’s title in 1990 at the age of 19 years, 28 days. However, Alcaraz is well over a year younger than Lleyton Hewitt as the youngest world No. 1, Hewitt assuming the top ranking in 2001 at the age of 20 years and 268 days.

The young Spaniard persisted at the end of the tournament in what four-time U.S. Open champion John McEnroe called “one of the all-time great efforts you will ever see to win an event.” He won three straight matches in five sets, including two that finished after 2 am, to reach the final, a feat last achieved by Stefan Edberg in 1992, who famously came back from a service break in the fifth set in the fourth round, quarterfinals and semifinals. Alcaraz trailed by a service break in the firth set against 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in the fourth round before winnign 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in three hours and 54 minutes in a match that ended at 2:23 am. He then saved a match point in his quarterfinal epic win against Jannik Sinner, which he won 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-3 in five hours and 15 minutes, the second longest U.S. Open match of all time, that finished at 2:50 am, the latest finish in U.S. Open history. In the semifinals, he again persisted in his five-set 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (5), 6-3, fighting against a roaring U.S. crowd.

Alcaraz spent a total of 23 hours, 40 minutes on court in the tournament.

Carlos Alcaraz

Latest And Second-Longest! Alcaraz vs. Sinner Match Makes U.S. Open History

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The US Open set a record for its latest-ever finish early Thursday morning when 19-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defeated 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3, in a quarterfinal final men’s singles match that officially ended at 2:50 a.m.

The match lasted 5 hours, 15 minutes — the second-longest US Open match ever — and surpassed the previous record for latest finish of 2:26 a.m., set three times, most recently in 2014. The record for longest match is 5:26, set by Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang in 1992. Alcaraz, the No. 3 seed, will now play American Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals on Friday. Earlier on Wednesday, Tiafoe defeated Andrey Rublev, 7-6(3), 7-6(0), 6-4, to become the first African-American man to reach the semifinals of the US Open since Arthur Ashe in 1972

Carlos Alcaraz wins first Masters in Miami, confirms wonderkid status

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Carlos Alcaraz wins his first Masters title in Miami and hereby confirms that he is the new wonderkid in tennis. Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud in straight sets 7-5 6-4. 

By winning the Miami tournament Alcaraz is the 2nd youngest player to ever win a Masters title. Only Michael Chang, (Toronto, 1990) and Rafael Nadal (Monte Carlo, 2005) were younger when they won a tournament in this highly prestigious category in professional tennis. The Masters tournament are directly placed under Grand Slam tournaments.

Alcaraz, who is of this week is the number 11 on the ATP Tour rankings, also reached the semi finals of the Indian Wells tournament, another prestigious Masters’ tournament and also considered to be the fifth Grand Slam, gave all he got and then some in Miami to win the third title of his career.

Alcaraz, who was born in Murcia, Spain was pleasantly surprised by coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who went back to Spain due to the passing of his father.

Alcaraz has a rusty start

Alcaraz did not want to disappoint his Ferrero with whom he has been collaborating in 2019, and may have felt some pressure because he was off to a rusty start with a lot of unforced errors.

Casper Ruud, who also played his first Masters finale like Alcaraz, happily took advantage of the bad start of the Spanish youngster. The Norwegian, number seven in the world, took a 4-1 lead but Alcaraz rejuvenated his game and took the first set with 7-5.

Alcaraz put more variety in his game and dominated Ruud. The Spaniard took a quick 3-0 lead in the second set and won the set and match swiftly by hitting matchpoint on a lovegame.

Alcaraz became the youngest Miami tournament ever and broke the “Spanish curse”. Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moya, David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal (5x) also reached the finals of the prestigious Miami tournament but there never was a Spanish winner.

A tribute to Juan Carlos Ferrero

“Eduardo always with us,” he wrote on the lens with a heart before acknowledging his coach’s gesture of attending the final in his speech. “Juan Carlos came yesterday, it’s a tough moment for him and I want to say thank you to him for coming to stay with me in this important moment for me, for my career,” the newly-crowned Miami Open said. “It’s pretty amazing to share this with you.”

Carlos Alcaraz Beats Casper Ruud For Miami Open Title

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Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest ever Miami Open men’s singles champion after the 18-year-old Spaniard defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4 in the final at Hard Rock Stadium.

Only two men have won titles at the ATP 1000 level at a younger age — Michael Chang, who was 18 years and five months old when he won Toronto in 1990, and Rafael Nadal, 18 years and 10 months when he claimed the Monte Carlo crown in 2005. To boot, Alcaraz became the first Spanish man to win in Miami, a title that even Nadal has not won in his career.

“I have no words to describe how I feel right now, but it is so special to win my first Masters 1000 here in Miami,” Alcaraz said in his post-match speech. “I’m so happy with the win and for sure with my team. “I knew Casper is playing very well, he has a big forehand. I tried to play to his backhand first and tried to go to attack, to not let him dominate the match.”

Alcaraz came back after a slow start, trailing 1-4, then broke Ruud twice early in the second en route to closing out victory, capped with a serve-and-volley winner.

The win will move Alcaraz to No. 11 in the world, but many see him as the No. 3 threat to win the French Open later this Spring, behind Nadal and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz