20 Stats For Carlos Alcaraz's 20th Birthday
20 Stats For Carlos Alcaraz’s 20th Birthday
In honour of Carlos Alcaraz’s 20th birthday, ATPTour.com celebrates by reliving 20 facts, memories and moments that have made the Spaniard’s career historic thus far.
20 – Number of weeks Alcaraz first stayed at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after he rose to top spot following his 2022 US Open triumph.
19 – Alcaraz’s age when he rose to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for first time. He is the only teenager in the Open Era to top the men’s rankings.
18 – Age when he lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in Umag, becoming the youngest tour-level champion since 18-year-old Kei Nishikori won in Delray Beach in 2008.
17 – Beat Botic van de Zandschulp on Court 17 when aged 17 on his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open in 2021.
16 – Years old when he made his tour-level debut. The Spaniard defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(2) in Rio de Janeiro in 2020.
15 – Age when he beat then-World No. 140 Pedro Martinez to earn first Top 200 win. He was not only the first player aged 15 & under to upset a Top 200 opponent since Ryan Harrison in 2008, but he was just the fifth 15-year-old to do so in the past 20 years, joining Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet and Bernard Tomic.
14 – Seed Alcaraz was when he clinched his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.
13 – Age Alcaraz and Nadal’s paths would cross for the first time. Alcaraz posed for a picture with the Spaniard after winning a competition on the Rafa Nadal junior tour. They have since met three times on court, with Nadal leading Alcaraz 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.
12 – Number of tour-level finals Alcaraz has played.
11 – September 2022. The date Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 to win the US Open title and climb to No. 1.
10 – The Spaniard climbed into the Top 10 for the first time after winning the title in Barcelona in 2022. Aged 18, he was the youngest player to crack the Top 10 since Nadal did exactly 17 years before after he lifted his first Barcelona trophy.
9 – Number of tour-level titles the Spaniard has won.
8 – Number of five-set wins Alcaraz has earned at Grand Slams, with five coming at the US Open. He has only lost once in a fifth set at a major, coming against Matteo Berrettini at the 2022 Australian Open.
7 – Top 5 wins. The 19-year-old earned his first against then-World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open in 2021.
6 – Alcaraz will play in his sixth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final on his birthday against Borna Coric in Madrid.
5 – Consecutive matches won at the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals to become an undefeated champion at the 21-and-under year-end event.
4 – Number of ATP Masters 1000 crowns.
3 – By defeating Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev en route to the Madrid title in 2022, Alcaraz defeated the Top 3 seeds at the event. He also became the first player to beat the Serbian and Spaniard back-to-back on clay.
2 – In Indian Wells in 2023, Alcaraz defeated Tallon Griekspoor to earn 100 tour-level wins. He was the second fastest player to reach the milestone behind John McEnroe.
1 – His ranking at the end of 2022, making him the first and youngest player to finish No. 1 in the 50 editions of the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings.