Winners. 73 per cent every time he came to the net, 64 per cent of forehands he let fly, 63 per cent of shots from the baseline. And to ensure he had the opportunity to do all of that, he put back in play 74 per cent of all balls faced. Jaw-dropping numbers. Championship-winning stats.
You would expect these kinds of figures in a match featuring Novak Djokovic. He was, you would say with a shrug of your shoulders, just playing an oft-repeated tune. You would be wrong. Dead wrong.
A twist in the tale was enacted at Wimbledon last Sunday. The scriptwriter, it appeared, had on his own volition, changed the narrative. Djokovic, for once, was at the receiving end. A new lead actor, Carlos Alcaraz, occupied centre stage at SW19.
The rise of Alcaraz
Last year, Alcaraz had overcome Djokovic in five sets. This time he needed just three to complete the decimation. In doing so, he became the first man in 40 years to win four majors by the age of 21, only the sixth in the Open Era to achieve the Channel Slam (winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year), and the youngest since Bjorn Borg to register back-to-back victories at SW19.
As a professional athlete, Djokovic is no stranger to loss. He has been beaten, on occasion soundly defeated, but he has never been toyed with—until now.
“He [Alcaraz] is technically very sound with an all-court game. He is solid from the baseline and most comfortable at the net, a rare phenomenon in this era.”
—Enrico Piperno, tennis coach
Watching Alcaraz walk all over one of the greatest in the sport, one has to ask, how good is he really? Can reality compete with the hype? Is he the tonic prescribed for fans writhing in the throes of depression caused by the inevitable passing of the baton by the Big 3?
As if the fact that he was the youngest World No. 1 in the 50 years of ATP rankings and had got there from outside the Top 100 in 16 months is not enough, he is also that perfect combination of Rafael Nadal and Djokovic we didn’t expect to see while they were still active. Watching him play gravity-defying drop shots at the net, passing Djokovic at will, and leaving him flat-footed time and again, just reinforced the fact that Alcaraz is a cut above his peers.
Imran Mirza, one of India’s most technically astute coaches and the man who gave the world Sania Mirza, sounded truly excited when I asked about his reading of Alcaraz’s game.
“Carlos has tremendous foot speed, great racquet head acceleration, and a variety of strokes like Djokovic. He has a great serve, a great second serve, a great forehand and backhand. For every ball, I think he is capable of hitting at least four or five different kinds of strokes as winners. That’s why he is so good on all surfaces, whether it’s clay, grass or hard.”
Also read: Carlos Alcaraz embodies best of ‘Roger, Rafa, and me’, says Djokovic after Wimbledon defeat
Exceptional and aggressive
Enrico Piperno, the man who coached Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to several grand slam doubles titles, agreed. He called Alcaraz “the best 21-year-old to ever play the game.” That is a huge statement to make, a fact Piperno knows better than most.
“He is technically very sound with an all-court game. He is solid from the baseline and most comfortable at the net, a rare phenomenon in this era,” Piperno said.
Nandan Bal, former Davis Cup player and coach, pointed out an oft-underestimated weapon in tennis that Alcaraz employs with great effect.
“Carlos has an exceptional and aggressive backhand slice, a shot that not many players in this era are comfortable with. Another aspect of his game that is difficult for his opponents to deal with is that he is extremely aggressive, to the point of being audacious.”
While all this makes Alcaraz special, he also has what truly separates the great from the good: a champion mindset.
Somdev Devvarman, one of India’s most talented singles players whose promising career was cut short by a series of injuries, pointed to the fact that Alcaraz has lost only one five-setter in his entire career thus far, and won 14.
“Very few people have the ability to rise to the level he did in the final consistently, to bring that level, to bring that intensity, never taking a point off. He has that ability to turn it on, and keep it on longer than any of his other peers.”
That champion mindset was again evident in an interview Alcaraz gave, hours after the win.
“I have to keep improving everything,” he said. “My forehand, at this level I think it can be better. Every year should be better. I think my game in general I think can improve it and deal with the situations. I can’t stop like [after] this one.”
This, after prevailing 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) over a 24-time grand slam winner. Unbelievable.
“At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now. It doesn’t matter if I already won four Grand Slams at the age of 21,” Alcaraz added.
Also read: Djokovic welcomes Rohan Bopanna to tennis hall of fame. It’s a cue for AITA to step up its game
Grounded in the face of success
It is easy to lose your head when success comes at an early age. But Alcaraz, like Nadal before him, has a family and a support system that keeps him firmly grounded. He knows that his journey thus far is not his alone.
His access to red clay was thanks to the courts his grandfather laid at the local club. His unlikely sponsor was a random stranger who saw him play at the age of 10 at the club. Fortunately for Alcaraz, Lopez Rueda turned out to be the tennis-crazy CEO of a local candy company Postres Reina.
The company’s support in Alcaraz’s early teenage years allowed him access to the best coaching in his region, to travel across Europe, and to play in the most competitive tournaments. International Management Group (IMG) took over when Alcaraz was 13 and introduced him to his current coach, former Spanish player Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Will Alcaraz win more majors than anyone before him? While that is something only posterity can tell us, in the conversations I had with Mirza, Bal, Piperno, and Devvarman, there was one underlying sentiment we all agreed on. As long as he remains free of injuries, or at least manages them well, the sky’s the limit for the young Spaniard.
Alcaraz himself is taking nothing for granted. “I don’t know what is my limit. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to keep enjoying my moment, just to keep dreaming. So let’s see if at the end of my career it’s going to be 25, 30, 15, four [majors]. I don’t know,” he signed off at the post-match interview on Sunday.
Only time will tell how many milestones the 21-year-old will cross on the road to greatness, in the years and decades to come. The only certainty in the minds of opponents, fans, and pundits alike, is that, for now, there is no escape from Alcaraz.
Anindya Dutta is a sports columnist and author of ‘Wizards: The Story of Indian Spin Bowling’ and ‘Advantage India: The Story of Indian Tennis’. He tweets @Cric_Writer. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)