When Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer finally loosen their stranglehold on the Grand Slams, pundits could view Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open victory on Sunday as heralding the altering of the guard in males’s tennis.
Having earned his status as one of many fiercest opponents amongst a hungry group of younger challengers to the ‘Big Three’, Alcaraz’s win over Casper Ruud not solely introduced the 19-year-old Spaniard a primary main title but in addition noticed him develop into the youngest world No 1 in ATP historical past.
His two-week journey in New York noticed him collide with a number of different rising stars, providing the promise of thrilling rivalries for followers to take pleasure in for a few years to come back.
He battled 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner in an exciting five-set quarter-final that didn’t end till practically 3am earlier than surviving one other five-setter towards 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe, who turned the primary Black American man to make the semis of the match since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
On Sunday “Carlitos” averted one other punishing five-set match however nonetheless needed to be at his athletic greatest to attain a 6-4 2-6 7-6(1) 6-3 victory over 23-year-old Norwegian Ruud, who rises to No 2 on the planet behind Alcaraz.
The Spaniard’s coach, former world primary Juan Carlos Ferrero, mentioned there is no such thing as a scarcity of expertise on the lads’s Tour however he got here away from Alcaraz’s quarter-final match towards Sinner considering the pair may dominate for the subsequent decade.
“The other day I said that maybe Sinner and Carlos could dominate the Tour for maybe the next 10 years, from what I saw, the level that I saw the other day,” he mentioned.
“Of course, there’s another players like (Alexander) Zverev, (Dominic) Thiem, Casper, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, they going to be there, they going to have opportunities to win Grand Slams for sure.”
Also making headlines at Flushing Meadows was fiery 27-year-old Australian Nick Kyrgios, who had reached the Wimbledon last and knocked then world primary Daniil Medvedev out within the fourth spherical in New York.
But whereas the rising stars command an increasing number of of the highlight and assist appeal to a youthful and extra numerous fan base to the game, it might be untimely to say the panorama has shifted.
Nadal received the primary two Grand Slams of the 12 months at Melbourne Park and Roland Garros.
Three-time U.S. Open champion Djokovic, who was not capable of journey to New York having chosen to not be vaccinated towards Covid-19, received Wimbledon.
The ‘Big Three’ had received 20 of the final 23 majors coming into Sunday’s last and completed prime of the world rankings in 17 of the final 18 years.
And whereas the 41-year-old Federer’s future within the sport stays unsure, Nadal, 36, is 38-5 this 12 months and Djokovic will probably be hungry to match or surpass the Spaniard’s report 22 Grand Slam titles when the brand new season begins subsequent 12 months.
For ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe, nevertheless, the tide is beginning to flip.
“It’s remarkable to watch Alcaraz play this game, how he’s elevated the tempo of this game along with Sinner and Tiafoe and other young guys,” he mentioned on Sunday.
“To me it really is the start, it’s not the finish, but it’s the start of the real changing of the guard in men’s tennis.”
Source: www.impartial.co.uk