Staff Reporter
Carlos Alcaraz’s recent Wimbledon triumph will come as no surprise to some. He was the second favourite for a while until Novak Djokovic’s injury was revealed. And then Jannik Sinner moved ahead of the Spaniard in the betting. But Alcaraz was tipped for success, and he achieved it. Now, he’s set to dominate the sport of tennis for years to come.
Alcaraz, 21, is very much the man of the moment in men’s tennis. There are four Grand Slam events – the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open- and it’s only the Australian Open he has yet to conquer. He’s won back-to-back Wimbledon titles, something that is a rare achievement, and most tennis betting markets online covering Grand Slams have the name Alcaraz at the top of their odds lists, and rightly so. Nobody is doing it like Alcaraz is doing it.
For years, the dominant force in tennis was made up of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They were clear of everyone else in the men’s game. Then, when Federer exited the sport, Nadal’s injuries became too much, Djokovic moved into his latter years, and Murray called time on his career; the question was who was going to take over.
The answer is Carlos Alcaraz, with a very strong supporting cast. His Grand Slam achievements so far are the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in 2024, French Open success in 2024, Wimbledon wins in 2023 and 2024 and victory at the US Open in 2022. As far as Grand Slam CVs go, at the age of twenty-one, you’re not going to find much better, even if you go back in history. And Alcaraz is also tipped to win this year’s US Open, which could mean a hat trick of Slams this season alone.
In short, that would already prove Alcaraz can dominate men’s tennis. Yes, the Australian Open is currently eluding him. It was won by current world number one Jannik Sinner after the Italian defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final, who are both going to be a part of the next era of the sport. Still, Alcaraz has made the quarter-finals and is a proven performer on hard court, so you’d imagine it’s a case of when and not if he adds this Slam to his collection.
And that’s the key take home where Alcaraz is concerned. He’s a player who can play at the top of his game in tennis on all surfaces, be it hard court, clay court or grass. Some players are better on one or two but not so good on the other, for example.
But to be a great in tennis, you must master all court types, which is precisely what Alcaraz is doing under the watchful eye of former world number one and French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Federers, Nadals, and Djokovics of this world did it, and now Alcaraz is doing it. And at twenty-one, he could eclipse all their achievements, which would be quite something.
