Grand Slam Champion at 19: Alcaraz Among the Greats

It all sounds very familiar: a powerful 19-year-old Spaniard winning his first Grand Slam title in emphatic fashion leaving the tennis world in awe. Carlos Alcaraz followed in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal on Sunday, winning the US Open to become the youngest male US Open champion since Pete Sampras in 1990 and the youngest Grand Slam winner since Rafa Nadal took the throne in Paris in 2005.

Alcaraz defeated the 23-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in a high-stakes final, with both players not only playing for their maiden Grand Slam title, but also for the coveted number 1 spot in the world ranking. And while Ruud lost his second Grand Slam final this year after coming up short against Rafael Nadal at the French Open, Alcaraz took his first chance, becoming the youngest male player ever to reach No.1 – a feat that automatically puts him in pole position for heir apparent of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, who have dominated men’s tennis for so long (and still do even if it’s part-time).

As the following chart shows, Alcaraz’ teenage triumph puts him among some of the greatest players tennis has ever seen, with practically all of the youngest Grand Slam champions in the Open Era going on to have long and successful careers. Interestingly, the youngest of them all, Michael Chang, who came out of nowhere to win the French Open in 1989, is the only one on the list never to win another Grand Slam title. The American who was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008 reached three more Grand Slam finals, but lost all of them.