Now two wins away from defending his US Open title, Carlos Alcaraz would join an elite group should he do so.
Just four players in the Open Era – Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – have won multiple titles on each of clay, grass and hard court in a calendar year.
Nadal did it most recently, 15 years ago.
It’s an achievement two-fold in its impressiveness. Not only must players produce an extraordinary season – a minimum of six titles is required – but they must possess variety, versatility and solidity in their games to navigate the nuances of the three surfaces.
Alcaraz clearly possesses the tools necessary to emulate these greats. Should he do so, he would achieve this feat at a younger age than any of them.
He has thrived on clay ever since growing up on the surface. He’s also the reigning Wimbledon champion. Yet his first Grand Slam title came on neither clay nor grass – it was on the US Open’s hard courts.
The 20-year-old has returned to the semifinals this fortnight at Flushing Meadows, and was asked after one of his wins if his favourite surface – which he once said was red clay – had changed.
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“Yes,” he laughed. “I said that right now my favourite surface is the hard court. And when I won Wimbledon I said I fall in love with the grass. So probably clay court is the last of them for me. I don’t know.
“I’m really comfortable with the three surfaces, but right now hard court is my favourite one.”
Alcaraz has not only shown complete comfort on all surfaces in 2023; at the same time, he has proven practically unbeatable on all of them.
After dissecting Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-2 6-4 in the US Open quarterfinals, he improved his season win-loss record to 58-6 – a winning rate of 90.6 per cent.
No player in Open era history has attained a success rate above 90 per cent before turning 21.
*numbers subject to change as season not complete
Incredibly, his winning rate at Grand Slams in 2023 is even higher – 94.4 per cent – after winning 17 of his 18 matches so far. Again, this is the best of any player younger than 21 in the Open era.
His latest success in New York also means he has become the youngest player in 15 years to reach four Grand Slam semifinals, since another similarly-complete legend: Novak Djokovic.
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Alcaraz’ overall record at Grand Slams now stands at 41-8, a success rate of 83.7 per cent.
This is better than all under-21 players in the Open era except Bjorn Borg’s percentage of 84.4.
Should Alcaraz win two more matches – and become the first player since Federer to defend a US Open title in 15 years – he would be extremely close to taking ownership of that record, too.
That would happen with a first-round win at Australian Open 2024.