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A potentially legendary career in men’s tennis reached a significant milestone Sunday when Carlos Alcaraz of Spain won his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, defeating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Alcaraz, who turned 19 in May, has been the subject of outsized expectations and breathless predictions of greatness since early in his teenage years. But it would have been difficult for even his most ardent believers to envision how quickly he has ascended to the top of the game.
After being ranked 141st at the beginning of the 2021 season, winning the U.S. Open makes Alcaraz the first teenage male to ever reach No. 1 in the world. He is also the youngest man to win a maiden Grand Slam title since Rafael Nadal did it just shy of his 19th birthday at the 2005 French Open.
And he did it the hard way, battling through three consecutive five-set matches before a tough final against an opponent who brought a lot of quality to the table and forced Alcaraz to come up with his best tennis despite playing on clearly tired legs.
Alcaraz’s total of 23 hours, 39 minutes on court is the most combined amount of on-court time any player has ever endured during a major, passing Kevin Anderson’s 23 hours, 20 minutes during a run to the 2018 Wimbledon final.
