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All you MUST know about Wimbledon champ Alcaraz

July 16, 2023 23:52 IST

Carlos Alcaraz

Photograph: Kind Courtesy Wimbledon/Twitter

In a stunning upset on Centre Court, a new king has emerged.

Carlos Alcaraz, at the mere age of 20, has triumphed over the best player of all time, defeating a man who was considered virtually invincible on this hallowed ground.

With an impressive display of skill and determination, Alcaraz has claimed the title of the new King of Wimbledon.

 

Factbox on Carlos Alcaraz, who beat seven-time champion Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final on Sunday to win his second Grand Slam title:

Age: 20

Country: Spain

ATP ranking: 1

Seeding: 1

Grand Slam titles: 2 (U.S. Open 2022, Wimbledon 2023)

ROAD TO FINAL

Carlos Alcaraz

Photograph: Kind Courtesy Wimbledon/Twitter

First round: Jeremy Chardy (France) 6-0 6-2 7-5

Second round: Alexandre Muller (France) 6-4 7-6(2) 6-3

Third round: 25-Nicolas Jarry (Chile) 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 7-5

Round of 16: Matteo Berrettini (Italy) 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3

Quarter-finals: 6-Holger Rune (Denmark) 7-6(3) 6-4 6-4

Semi-finals: 3-Daniil Medvedev (Russia) 6-3 6-3 6-3

EARLY LIFE

* Alcaraz started playing at the Real Sociedad Club de Campo de Murcia, where his father, Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez, was the tennis academy director, before making his ATP main-draw debut at 16 in the 2020 Rio Open.

CAREER TO DATE

* He became the youngest men's quarter-finalist in the Open Era at the U.S. Open in 2021.

* He became the first teenager to beat Rafa Nadal and Djokovic in the same tournament when he defeated the duo, who share 45 Grand Slams between them, on consecutive days to win his second ATP Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open in 2022.

* He defeated fifth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud to clinch his first major title at Flushing Meadows in 2022, becoming the youngest champion at the hardcourt tournament since American Pete Sampras (19) in 1990.

* He is the youngest world number one in ATP rankings history.

* He won nine titles as a teenager and is behind only Bjorn Borg, Nadal, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.

* Beat Djokovic to win Wimbledon and become the first player outside the men's 'Big Four' (Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray) to win the Challenge Cup since 2002.

Source: REUTERS
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