In search of his 24th Grand Slam win at the Wimbledon 2023, 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic bumped into World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. Djokovic and Alcaraz competed in an exciting 5-set clash as they battled for a chance to become the singles player with the most Grand Slam championships won and an eighth Wimbledon victory. Alcaraz, though, came out on top, claiming his first Grand Slam championship at the England’s Club and breaking the Serb’s 34-match winning streak.
But who is Carlos Alcaraz, the man Novak Djokovic dubbed the “Spanish Bull?” Is he the man who has the best of all three worlds: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic?
- The Spaniard made his professional debut in 2018, and in 2022, he earned his first Grand Slam championship (US Open).
- Alcaraz was raised in a tennis-loving family and was born in the small village of El Palmar in the province of Murcia. Both his father and grandpa were professional tennis players. Even his father has a tennis academy.
A lifelong dream! ?? You always have to believe! I'm only 20 years old, everything is happening too fast, but I'm very proud of how we work every day. Thank you everyone for your support, from the bottom of my heart! ??? @Wimbledon
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) July 16, 2023
? Getty pic.twitter.com/MsdjFqBhiO
- Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former World No. 1 and two-time Olympian who also won the French Open championship in 2003, is Alcaraz’s trainer.
- Alcaraz acknowledged in an interview that Rafael Nadal is his role model, despite the fact that his game is very similar to that of Roger Federer.
- In 2021, Alcaraz scored his first ATP Tour victory at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. He did it by becoming the ATP Tour’s youngest champion since Kei Nishikori (18) in 2008.
- In Miami and Madrid in 2022, he also took home two ATP Masters 1000 titles. His other two ATP victories that year were the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and the Conde Godo (Barcelona), giving him a total of four ATP victories.
- Alcaraz has defeated Djokovic before, including in the Wimbledon championship match. Alcaraz won the Madrid Open in 2022 by defeating Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev.
- The tennis world witnessed the biggest age difference between two Grand Slam finalists in about 50 years as Alcaraz (20) took on Djokovic (36) in the final.
- In the Wimbledon 2023 final, Alcaraz, 20, defeated Djokovic 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 to win his second Grand Slam title.
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