Carlos Alcaraz becomes the youngest men’s Grand Slam singles champion since Rafael Nadal in 2005, after emerging the winner of the 2022 edition of the U.S. Open.
The 19-year-old Spaniard battled to a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 victory over Norway’s Casper Ruud to claim his first Grand Slam title on Sunday at Flushing Meadows.
He eclipsed the record that Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt set at 20 in 2001.
On a day of landmarks, he is also the youngest champion in New York since Pete Sampras in 1990.
With the likes of Novak Djokovic not in action and Rafael Nadal crashing out early, many had rightly predicted Alcaraz as a potential champion.
The youngster did not let down those who had faith in him, as he repeatedly had a capacity crowd of 23,000 rising to their feet in salute of his scintillating shot-making during his epic matches.
Having shown a great deal of potential in recent times, the U.S. Open triumph is a significant breakthrough for a teenager who many say can dominate the ATP tour in the years to come.
“Everything came so fast. For me it’s unbelievable. It’s something I dreamed since I was a kid, since I started playing tennis,” said Alcaraz, whom folks of a certain age might still consider a kid.
“Of course,” he said, “I’m hungry for more.”
“He’s one of these few rare talents that comes up every now and then in sports. That’s what it seems like,” said Ruud, a 23-year-old from Norway. “Let’s see how his career develops, but it’s going all in the right direction.”
The Spaniard was serenaded by choruses of “Olé, Olé, Olé! Carlos!” that reverberated off the arena’s closed roof — and Alcaraz often motioned for the spectators to get louder.
It was a gruelling tournament for Alcaraz who claimed the record for most time spent on the court at a single Grand Slam event, passing the 23 hours and 21 minutes it took Kevin Anderson to finish runner-up at Wimbledon in 2018.
Defeat for Ruud, who was also vying for the world number one ranking, was his second in a Slam final this year after he was routed by Nadal in the French Open.
With the roof closed, the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd observed a moving moment’s silence on the 21st anniversary of the September 11 attacks before the final got off to a tentative start.
Both men saved break points in their opening service games before Alcaraz gained the only break of the first set for a key 3-1 lead.
Ruud dropped the set but triumphed in terms of sportsmanship when he called a double bounce on himself in the eighth game, conceding the point to the Spaniard.
Alcaraz served it out to love and a one-set lead courtesy of his 13 winners to six for the Norwegian.
The Spanish teenager, who went into the final with a 2-0 winning record over Ruud, squandered a break point at 2-2 in the second set.
Ruud made him pay, edging ahead for 4-2 and then levelling the final on a second set point after another careless Alcaraz drop-shot opened the court invitingly for the Norwegian.
At that moment, Alcaraz had been on court at the tournament for almost 22 hours, passing the mark set by Andy Murray when the Briton claimed the 2012 title.
He was ahead for 2-0 in the third set before Ruud hit back.
The 23-year-old Norwegian had two set points in an 11-minute 12th game but was unable to convert as Alcaraz put away inch-perfect back-to-back volleys.
Alcaraz made the most of his reprieve, racing through to his first tiebreak success of the tournament as Ruud’s game fell suddenly apart.
The Spaniard sensed his chance, breaking for 4-2 in the fourth set before taking his aces count to 12 to lead 5-2.
Ruud held to love but Alcaraz claimed his slice of history on a second match point before collapsing to the court in celebration.
During the post-match on-court interview, Alcaraz said, “It’s something that I dreamed of since I was a kid—to be No. 1 in the world, to be the champion of a Grand Slam.
“It’s something that I worked really, really hard [for],” adding, “It’s tough to talk right now, a lot of emotions.”
AFP