With tennis’ so-called ‘Big Three’—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic—either retired or reaching the twilight of their glittering careers, the racket sport desperately needed a new icon to liven things up.
Thankfully, along came Carlos Alcaraz. The exciting Spaniard hit the headlines in 2021, and his stock hasn’t stopped rising since.
Fast forward to today, and Alcaraz is already a four-time Grand Slam winner with the potential to dominate the sport for at least the next decade.
There’s only one Grand Slam left of 2024 as we approach the climax of the season, and the Carlos Alcaraz to win the US Open odds are firmly in his favour. The 21-year-old is the 11/8 favourite to prevail at Flushing Meadows for the second time, so let’s examine his journey on the tour thus far.
2021: US Open run to quarter-finals
As already mentioned, Alcaraz started to make the headlines in 2021, and he became a household name around the globe following his run to the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Alcaraz defeated Brit Cam Norrie in straight sets in the first round before edging past Arthur Rinderknech to advance to the third round.
Drawn to face third seed Stefan Tsitsipas, many thought this would be the end of the road for Alcaraz at Flushing Meadows. However, he beat the Greek 3-2 in a thrilling five-set encounter.
After fighting back from behind twice to overcome plucky qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in five sets, Alcaraz was forced to retire when losing by a set to Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarters.
2022: Alcaraz gets redemption in New York
12 months on from withdrawing in the last eight in New York, Alcaraz got his redemption at Flushing Meadows when winning the 2022 US Open and landing his first Grand Slam title.
Another quarter-final appearance in the French Open earlier in the year was the best he could muster in the Grand Slams to this stage, but there was no stopping him this time out.
Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev were notable absentees from the tournament, but you can take nothing away from Alcaraz as he cruised his way through the opening rounds.
An immense battle against his fierce rival Jannik Sinner in the quarters enthralled fans, and Alcaraz had to grind out further wins against Francis Tiafoe and Casper Ruud to get his hands on the trophy.
2023 & 2024: Back-to-back Wimbledon titles
Alcaraz has proven his ability on all surfaces, and his two Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 2023 and 2024 are further proof of that.
The Spaniard was beaten by Djokovic in the semi-finals of the French Open just before last year’s Wimbledon, but got his revenge against the Serb in London.
Djokovic was on the hunt for a third-straight Championship, which would have seen him lift the trophy for the eighth time, but Alcaraz came out on top in the five-set classic.
It was a repeat of that final again this year. Alcaraz was the favourite in the tennis betting and prevailed with a stunning three-set victory over Djokovic.
2024: French Open success
Alcaraz moved to within just an Australian Open away from a Career Slam when winning the French Open back in June.
Bettering his semi-final defeat to Djokovic in 2023, Alcaraz’s testing route to the final saw him overcome Sebastian Korda, Auger-Aliassime, Tsitsipas and Sinner.
The Spaniard went a set up against Zverev in the final at Roland Garros, but the German battled back to a 3-1 lead.
Alcaraz’s never-say-die attitude kicked in and he thought back to win the next two sets 6-1 and 6-2 to secure the French Open title.
