Decoding the incredible run of Carlos Alcaraz in 2022
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz overcame Oscar Otte in the third round at Wimbledon on Friday. The former defeated Otte 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 to proceed to the last 16 where he will face a fired-up Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz has become the youngest man to reach this stage at The Championships since Bernard Tomic in 2011 (quarter-finals at the age of 18). Here, we decode his run.
Joint-most ATP titles in 2022
Alcaraz has the second-most wins on the ATP tour in 2022. He has a win-loss record of 35-4 and is only behind Stefanos Tsitsipas (42-13). The former has won the joint-most titles this year (4) with Rafael Nadal. His four titles include Madrid Masters, Barcelona, Miami Masters, and Rio de Janerio. Notably, three out of four titles have come on clay courts.
Alcaraz won the Rio Open
Alcaraz reached his first ATP 500 final at the Rio Open. He defeated Jaume Munar, Federico Delbonis, top seed Matteo Berrettini, and Fabio Fognini en route to the finale clash. In the summit match, Alcaraz overcame Diego Schwartzman to win the title. After his win, the Spaniard made his debut in the Top 20 of ATP singles Rankings (February 2022).
Maiden Masters 1000 title
Alcaraz stormed into his maiden Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open. He defeated Marton Fucsovics, Marin Cilic, Tsitsipas, and Miomir Kecmanovic to reach his second Masters 1000 semi-final. The former then humbled defending champion Hubert Hurkacz to claim his 50th tour-level win. Alcaraz became the youngest champion at the Miami Open after defeating Casper Ruud in the final.
Alcaraz defeated Rafael Nadal at Barcelona Open
Alcaraz defeated Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets to win the Barcelona Open, another clay-court tournament. The Spaniard overcame top seed Tsitsipas to break into the Top 10, the first teen to achieve this feat since Andy Murray in 2007. At the Madrid Open, Alcaraz defeated five-time champion Rafael Nadal (quarter-finals). He became the first teenager to beat Nadal on clay.
Alcaraz defeated Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
After beating Nadal in Madrid, Alcaraz defeated former world number one and top seed Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. The Spaniard became the first-ever man ever to beat Djokovic and Nadal in consecutive matches on clay. Alcaraz became the youngest Madrid champion, beating Alexander Zverev.
A look at career stats of Alcaraz
Alcaraz has a career win-loss record of 68-22. He is 17-6 at Grand Slams. Last year, he became the youngest quarter-finalist at the US Open in the Open Era. He captured his maiden tour-level title in Umag (2021), defeating Richard Gasquet in the final.
