Early Life and start of Professional Career
The young phenom Carlos Alcaraz is like all young tennis players in Spain, he shares the same idol, Rafael Nadal. Utilizing the same Babolat Pure Aero that Rafa has wielded for so many years by earning a racquet deal with them at age 13. No one has come close to showing the capability of Nadal, that is until Carlos arrived. Early on the tennis world could see the tenacity and the passion for the game in young Carlitos, while at the same time, going about his business in an extremely classy...easy to root for manner.
Rafa has long been known for never smashing a racquet throughout his career and Carlos adopted this mindset. The World No.1 knows the fame and big stages come with an unspoken duty...to set the example for the kids to come.
Though Rafael Nadal Academy opened in 2016, Carlos turned to one of Spain's best tennis players for coaching/training. Joining Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2018, a former Roland Garros Champion, and former World No. 1 himself who had most recently coached Alexander Zverev.
In a way, Carlos did not have a crazy successful junior career, only reaching the quarters in one of the grand slams and reaching an ITF ranking of World No. 22. At age 16, he decided to make his ATP 500 main draw debut playing in the 2020 Rio Open after receiving a wild card. He would go on to win that match against Albert Ramos Viñolas, but later fall in the second round. The remainder of his 2020 season was played on the ATP Challenger Tour, where he won three Challenger events in Trieste, Barcelona and Alicante.
Style of Play
Charly possess an all court game with essentially no weaknesses. His firepower and shot making is off the charts, which often lead him to being the aggressor. He can hit winners off both wings, but often revs up the forehand with an average speed of 78 mph. Ripping forehands up to 100mph often leads to him setting up his favorite shot, the drop shot. LETHAL. Alcaraz tops the leaderboard in win percentage off the drop shot, at 67.7% on forehand and 52.1% on backhand...
Carlos stands at just 6'0, which makes his ability to crack the serve in the 130's that much more impressive.
The most fun part about Alcaraz is that he manages to combine all of the amazing talents of the Big 3. Starting with Nadal, Charly has the incredible footspeed & athleticism to defend and counterpunch. He also has the innate ability to control the court off the ground, stepping in early to take away time like Roger. Lastly, the lateral movement and ridiculous flexibility he possesses enable him to neutralize every shot like Novak.
Career Success
In 2021, we saw the injection of the 17-year-old who showcased jaw dropping athleticism, finesse and firepower and soon became one of the best players in the world. Alacaraz won his first ATP level title in Umag 2021 where he defeated Richard Gasquet. The momentum snowballed and the teenage phenomenon would go on to make a run to the quarters at the US Open (wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas & Cam Norrie) and finishing the year with the Next Gen Finals title (wins over Sebastian Korda and Holger Rune).
Carlos was primed to take over 2022. He put the tour on notice when he won Masters 1000 in Miami after defeating 3 top 10 players. He followed it up with another title at the Masters 1000 in Madrid beating Rafa, Novak, and at the time World No.3 Zverev. He then went on to win the US Open, his maiden slam. This made Carlos the youngest World No.1 ever at just 19 years and 131 days old. He finished the year with 5 trophies and as the year end World No.1.
Carlos' dominance in 2023 has continued as the current World No.1, 47-4 record, & 6 titles...including his first title at Wimbledon.
My prediction is he wins 14 slams. This would make him tied for 4th all-time with Pete Sampras.
Gear
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