Home Sports The Big Three have reason to fear Alkarat

The Big Three have reason to fear Alkarat

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The Big Three have reason to fear Alkarat
Photo: AP Photo/John Mincillo

The whole tennis world – and not only – is talking about Carlos Alcarata. The Spaniard won the US Open at the age of 19, becoming the youngest player to win a Grand Slam since Rafa Nadal in 2005, when he won his first (of 14) title at Roland Garros.

At the same time, the Spaniard rose to first place in the world rankings. Alkarat became the youngest in the history of the sport to reach world number one at the age of 19 years, 4 months and 6 days. The previous record was held by Lleyton Hewitt, who reached the summit at the age of 20 years, 8 months and 26 days.

Few talk about how to turn the page in tennis. The “Big Three” (Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic) have dominated previous years, winning 63 Grand Slam titles and skyrocketing the sport’s popularity.

But what were the Big Three doing at 19?

Nadal is the owner of Roland Garros

Rafa Nadal was the only one of the Big Three to win a Grand Slam at the age of 19. The Spaniard, who also holds the record for major wins with 22 wins, won Roland Garros in 2005. His dominance in Paris took him to 3rd place in the world rankings.

By the age of 19, Rafa had already won 12 career titles (11 against Alcarata) and won another Davis Cup with Spain. When Roger Federer was at the height of his fame, the Spaniard climbed to number one in the world rankings for the first time on 18 August 2008 at the age of 22 after beating Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

To date, the Mallorcan tennis player has won 92 titles and held the top spot in the world for 209 weeks. He won another Olympic gold (2008) in singles and also has 11 titles – another gold medal in the Olympics – in doubles. He has won five Davis Cup titles with Spain.

Djokovic’s first title in the Netherlands

By the age of 19, Novak Djokovic had won two titles. The Serbian won his first ATP title in 2006, three weeks after Wimbledon, in Amersfoort, Netherlands, defeating Nicola Masa in the final.

Djokovic won his second title in the French city of Metz, which returned him to his first place in the top 20 of the world rankings. In the same year, the Serbian reached the quarterfinals of the Masters for the first time at the Madrid tournament.

Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title (Wimbledon) in 2008 at the age of 21. There are 21 major editions in the Nole collection, for a total of 88. He first reached the top of the world rankings on July 4, 2011, when he was 24 years old. In total, it spent 373 weeks at number one in the world.

Federer without a title

Roger Federer has been in no hurry to take a big step in his career. The Swiss court “artist” under 19 had two lost finals in Marseille and Basel. He was also defeated by Frenchman Arnaud Di Pascal in the minor final of the 2000 Olympics.

The Swiss won his first tour title in 2001 in Milan.

The Swiss won his first Grand Slam tournament in 2003 at the age of 22. In total, he has 20 major titles to his credit, and he is third in the corresponding ranking after Nadal and Djokovic.

Federer first climbed to number one in the world rankings in 2004 at the age of 23. He stayed at the top for 310 weeks, 237 of which were streaks. The Swiss has 103 career titles and is second on the list behind Jimmy Connors.

Author: Penelope Papadimou

Source: Kathimerini

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