Fanboying for Carlos Alcaraz
If you’ve talked to me much in the last few months you’re likely to have heard me mention the name “Carlos Alcaraz”. He’s the best thing in tennis right now and the main reason I follow the sport. My interest in tennis goes back to before he was born, including years following other favourite players of mine, especially two of the GOATs, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And there are other players I enjoy watching today, including Arthur Fils, Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Naomi Osaka when they’re playing well. But none of them comes close to Alcaraz.
Why’s that? Because the 22 year old Spaniard plays the most joyful, vibrant tennis you can watch today. Because his tennis is so varied that he keeps everyone, sometimes even himself, it seems, guessing as to what he’ll do next. Because he regularly pulls off athletic feats that make your jaw drop in wonder. Because he wins a lot; he’s the youngest ever world #1 and has already won 6 grand slams. And because of his rivalries with the third GOAT, Novak Djokovic, and his peer Jannik Sinner.
To give you a taste of what I mean, here’s a short video of what’s still one of his best points ever, from 4 years ago when he was only 18. The video has most of the Alcaraz essentials. There’s his amazing athleticism: the way he covers the whole court, sliding into the ball, keeping the point alive multiple times when everybody else thinks it’s already over. There’s his explosive forehand. His scrappy play, including the funny way he recovered from the net ball. His characteristic grunt. And of course the joy, his even more than ours. The only thing that clip doesn’t quite show is his variety.
There are his rivalries. In 2023, he beat Nadal and Djokovic back to back en route to winning the Madrid Masters, a tournament a tier below a grand slam. He’s beaten Djokovic 4 of the 9 times they’ve met, including twice at the Wimbledon finals, where he twice denied Djokovic a record-equalling 8 Wimbledon titles with Federer. In Summer 2024 he won Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and a silver medal at the Paris Olympics back to back.
And then there’s his rivalry with Sinner. I generally don’t like Sinner’s play style – it’s clinical where Alcaraz’s is artistic, monotonous where his is varied, business instead of Alcaraz’s joy. But that contrast makes for a great matchup, and their rivalry pushes the sport ever higher. This year, in the Roland Garros final, they played what is widely regarded as one of the best tennis matches of all time, a five and a half hour epic in which Alcaraz, thrice one point from losing, turned the match around.
I can go on, but I’ll leave it there and leave you with a few more videos of the brilliance that is Alcaraz.
