ATP500 Qatar - Final - Alcaraz v Fils

[ALCARAZWON]

Twenty-four..

"Oh, you just won a 500? How nice."

Novak the nutbag had won 2 slams by age 23 and 8 months, and both were AO which is so historically insignificant that Connors only played the AO twice, and Agassi didn't play the AO until 1995.
Alcarazwon has 7 slams at age 22 and 8 months including 2 US Open, 2 Wimbledon, 2 Roland Garros, 1 AO

 

[mightyjeditribble]

Hey there, man - I was somewhat tongue-in-cheek with my 'Twilight Zone' comment. Teasing those who have a habit of pronouncing what a player will do / won't do and then repeat the 'theory' - no matter how fatuous, ad nauseam. You will no doubt remember the standard quip to dismiss Carlitos as only competent on natural surfaces. Sure, it may stem from the association with Carlitos being Spanish and therefore a clay specialist, but my observations are that it went beyond that to pigeon-holing DESPITE the evidence of his potential.
Many that have taken an interest in Carlitos over the years, watched the development of his outstanding prowess, have been aware of just how good his potential is on all surfaces. Dude continues to show it, and with his performance in the final yesterday, illustrates just how superb he is on hard courts too.

Mind you, does it need reminding? Actually, even if it doesn't, I'll remind anyway - good fun! I'll start in what I consider to be his starting year on tour-2021, with the win over Tsitsipas in 2021 included to show a key win, even though he did not win the title:

• 2021- Aged 18, defeated world number 3 Tsitsipas at the USO. His first win over a top 3 player. Outdoor hard
• 2022- Aged 18, won Miami, masters 1000 beating Ruud, ranked world number 8. Youngest winner of the title, and only Spaniard to do so. Outdoor hard
• 2022- Aged 19, won the USO, becoming the youngest world number 1. Out door hard
• 2023 - Aged 19, won Indian Wells, masters 1000. Outdoor hard
• 2024 - Indian Wells, masters 1000. Outdoor hard
• 2024 - Beijing, ATP 500. Outdoor hard
• 2025 - Rotterdam ATP 500. Indoor hard
• 2025 - Cincinnati, masters 1000. Outdoor hard
• 2025 - USO, dropping only one set to the title. Outdoor hard
• 2025 - Tokyo ATP 500. Outdoor hard
• 2026 - AO, clinching the career slam aged 22, youngest to achieve it. Outdoor hard
• 2026 - Doha ATP 500. Outdoor hard

Total hard court titles won to date = 11, of which 3 are at GS level; 4 at masters 1000 level and 4 at ATP 500 level. Dude has also won 11 titles on clay and 4 on grass. His hard court and clay court results are equal for number of titles won, but he has won more hardcourt slams than on clay. Given the dearth of grass court tournaments and that Carlitos has won 3 slams on hard courts and 2 each on clay and grass, I'd say that he is a specialist of all surfaces, achieved consistently at the highest level.
Indoor hard courts remain a challenge, and Carlitos will most likely (if his develpment to date is an indicator), try to resolve this challenge too. He did well in the WTF's in 2025 and I suspect, will have taken confidence from it. Let's see.

Yes, I never got that. People seemed to think that he's Spanish and broke through young, so he must be the new Nadal. But that's just a lazy, superficial comparison. When I started watching him, what struck me were his attacking instincts and his all-court play. As a former Fed fan, that won me over, and I feel as though in terms of instincts and play style, he's closer to Fed than to Nadal (backhand notwithstanding).

 

[tennis24x7]

I just watched highlights back-to-back of Alcaraz-Fils and Sebi-Paul. Sebi-Paul almost looks like WTA compared to Alcaraz-Fils who were creaming the ball.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Alcaraz is on a tear. What a player!

 

[robyrolfo]

I just watched highlights back-to-back of Alcaraz-Fils and Sebi-Paul. Sebi-Paul almost looks like WTA compared to Alcaraz-Fils who were creaming the ball.

In their defense, it was insanely windy during the Seb-Paul match. You could see they were having a lot of trouble going too hard for anything.