Carlos Alcaraz conquers his first Grand Slam and manages to be the youngest number one in history

Carlos Alcaraz has put a finishing touch to his first season in the tennis elite by winning his first Grand Slam title tonight, which has also allowed him to rise to number one in the world ranking, the youngest tennis player to achieve it. For this, the Murcian has imposed himself on the Norwegian Casper Ruud in four sets (6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1) and 6-3) in the final of the US Open, the last ‘Grand Slam’ of the season, a victory of character and champion gene. “This is something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, to be number one in the world and a Grand Slam champion. I’ve worked so hard and now it’s hard to talk, there are so many emotions. I’m only 19 and it’s something really special for me,” said Alcaraz before receiving the winner’s trophy from John McEnroe. The Murcian stressed that despite reaching the final after three tough five-set matches in a row, “he always” tells himself that ” in the final rounds of a ‘Grand Slam’ is not the time to be tired. “You have to give everything on the court, everything you have inside,” he added. Ruud looked for Alcaraz to wear down The exhibition that both tennis players offered began with a high rhythm, marked by Ruud, knowing that the wear could be an asset in his favor . In fact, the first game was already about seven minutes long, a warning to the 25,000 spectators who gathered at the Arthur Ashe to watch one of the most important matches in the history of Spanish tennis. The Norwegian entered a little more focused and was able close that first game with his serve, to get two break balls in the second of the match, against a Murcian who was slowly warming up. The Spaniard came back from 15-40 thanks to two very good first serves and an ‘ace’, putting an end to that first threat from the Norwegian. Alcaraz believed it and broke the Norwegian’s serve for the first time in the third game of the duel to put the 2-1, supported by a direct and consistent game, with a very dominant forehand. He held off a strong start from the new world number two to take his next serve and make the first set score 3-1. The freshness of the legs of the Murcian prevailed until now over the discipline and order of the Norwegian. With 4-3 for Alcaraz, Ruud recognized a point in favor of the Spaniard for a double boat, after the chair umpire did not see him from his position. A gesture that was appreciated by El Palmar, a sign of the good treatment that reigns between two of the tennis players called to dominate the table in the coming years. The positive inertia of Alcaraz did not stop in this first set, to close the first set with a 6-4, after a last blank game with his service. The Murcian disconnected in the second setAlready in the second set, Alcaraz responded to the Norwegian’s first game with a blank to make it 1-1, trusting a lot in his service and with very short points with his serve, perhaps to administer and manage his capacity for resistance, aware that the game could take longer than expected .With 2-2 and 0-15, one of the best and longest points of the match was seen, which fell on Ruud’s side. The Norwegian followed that positive inertia to close out that key game and make it 4-2 in his favor, breaking Alcaraz’s serve. In this second set, a much messier Murcian, more influenced by emotions, was seen, while the Norwegian became strong from the back of the court, bringing out his ice mentality, with much more consistency. That allowed him to be much superior and close this second set 2-6. “I was very tense in the first and second, but also in the third. In the end I managed to calm down a bit and play at a good level from the baseline because Casper was playing very well and he made it very hard for me. I knew how to suffer there”, admitted Alcaraz at the end of the game. Reaction in the third The Spaniard was aware that he had to make changes and started the third round in the best way, the serve of the Norwegian. He closed that first game with a splendid drop shot, then made it 2-0 after a great game and one last ace point. However, Ruud found a black hole in the Spanish game, which led to a drop in performance. Thus, it went from possible 0-3 to 3-2 for the Norwegian, with the clearest ideas. Alcaraz was experiencing his worst moment of the match, although he gave time to see some more of those unlikely points that raised Arthur Ashe. At 5-6, Ruud had two set points to make it 2-1 up in the match, but Alcaraz was very brave and took the plunge by going to the net and volleying to the right to win the point. In that same game, Alcaraz forced the tiebreaker with an anthological point that made the New York public go crazy. Already in the fourth set, the Murcian had a break ball to make it 4-2 and he did not fail, with a long rally that despaired Ruud, who hit very long at the worst moment. Alcaraz grew at the right time, placing himself just two games away from making history and lifting his first ‘Great’. He had to wait for his service to put the final 6-3 and throw himself on the ground to celebrate his American dream, after becoming the new ‘king’ of world tennis and recognition and congratulations from around the world. The first to do it Rafa Nadal. Congratulations @carlosalcaraz for your first Grand Slam and for number 1, which is the culmination of your first great season, which I am sure will be many more! 👏🏻
Great effort @CasperRuud98 !very proud of you! Tough luck today but amazing tournament and season! Keep going!— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) September 11, 2022 Carlos Alcaraz is the sixth number one in Spanish tennis after Arancha Sánchez Vicario, Carlos Moyá, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Rafa Nadal and Garbiñe Muguruza.