A Star is Born

By Anura Gunasekera

Finally, a “Young Turk” has breached a bastion, jealously guarded for two decades by men with names like Federer, Nadal, Djokovich (the “Big Three”, for the purpose of this narrative) with some assistance from one Murray.

For the first time since 2003, the holder of the glittering Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles trophy, bears a different name- Alcaraz Garcia. That the said ” Young Turk” is actually a Spaniard, nurtured on pitiless Iberian clay , is also symbolic of the passing of the cudgel, from one Spanish gladiator to another. With Nadal withdrawing from the big stage, Spain has a new icon, and with Federer in pasture and Djokovich showing sure signs of mortality, the world of tennis a potential king.

In the daunting shadow of the “Big Three” of the last two decades, many young hopefuls have emerged, offering challenges of varying intensity to a collective supremacy. Of the 80 majors’ men’s singles titles between 2003 and 2023, as many as 65 have been shared between the “Big Three”, representing a hegemony unique in tennis history. Despite early promise, and the world-wide audience anticipation of an upset to a tiresome monopoly, none of the young challengers have delivered. Except for Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem, each with solitary major titles, all the others, Dimitrov, Kygrios, Berretini, Shapavalov, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Ruud, Rublev, have faltered against one of the Big Three, at crucial hurdles, despite competing regularly for the better part of the last decade. The spectre which lurks behind the finish line in all major events, does strange things, even to the most talented and resolute of competitors.

But “Carlito”, turned professional in 2018, just twenty years of age in 2023, already has two of the coveted trophies, the second the most significant in terms of tennis tradition and history.

In personality, Alcaraz could not be more unlike the other champions. There is no hint of the calculated arrogance of Djokovich, the sophistication of the elegant, suave Federer, or the gravitas of Nadal and, thankfully, nothing of the choler of Murray. Instead, he exudes a refreshing candour, a wide-eyed, beaming, artless sincerity, coupled with an engaging gawkiness and a generosity of spirit. But underlying that gauche, country-boy veneer is the steel, the belief in his ability. He already knows how good he is, and probably has a very good idea of how much better he will one day be.

None of the big names mentioned above, with perhaps the exception of Kygrios, sported the wide skill-set at a comparable age, that Alcaraz showcases at age 20. Already, he combines the best features of the playing styles and shot-repertoire of the Big Three, reinforced by a forehand of scary power, and a sharply contrasting array of touch shots of gossamer delicacy. With a game built on a rarely seen athleticism and court speed, he brings to court a formidable armoury, a fusion of brutality and grace.

A criticism leveled against him is of the over-use of his wide repertoire and the occasional over-kill; one is immediately reminded of a very recent example, the match-winning, cross-court forehand blinder against Medvedev, in the last Wimbledon semi-final, when a gentle tap would have sufficed to win him the point and the match. But that feature, too, is part of the attraction of his game, not unlike the free-spirited Federer at his best. At other times there are flashes of the remorseless baseline bludgeoning of Nadal, pushing the opponent against the backdrop with looping, top-spin backhands and forehands; and glimpses of the bread-and-butter strategy of Djokovich, moving the opponent back and forth with long, laser-like cross-court fusillades, nicking the side-lines with pin-point accuracy.

In the last French Open, despite coming in as top seed but not quite the favorite, Alcaraz showed signs of fragility, when he faltered against the relentless Djokovich in the semi-final. Despite levelling 1-1 at the end of the second set, he conceded the next two sets tamely, hampered by a severe cramp, brought on, possibly, by nervous stress. The same indecisiveness was once more visible at the beginning of the Wimbledon final, again before Djokovich, when he surrendered the first set without firing a single serious shot. But re-group Alcaraz did, and in a brilliant, ruthless final set, demonstrating that big-moment tentativeness was a thing of the past.

Alcaraz produced a nerveless display in the fifth set, against the man with the best five-set record ( 37-10- 75%) in the history of Tennis. The final game of the match show-cased a new found self-confidence; serving for the most coveted trophy in tennis, against the maestro of percentage tennis and the best court-mechanic tennis has ever seen, he dropped to love-15 with a failed drop shot. Then, unthinkably, he levels to 15 –all with an equally outrageous drop! He goes on to clinch the game, and the trophy, with a series of unreturnable winners. The only blemish in one of the most riveting finals in decades was produced by the enraged Serb, with his assault against the net post, in a vile response to being broken in the third game of the final set. That Djokovich brushed the incident aside without offering an apology – despite being heavily fined for the display – reinforces the general view, that he believes his success entitles him to operate outside the norms of decent conduct.

The significance of Alcaraz’s win at Wimbledon is not so much the victory itself, but what it augurs for the future. There was a similar, seminal event in 1985, when the 17 year old Boris Becker defeated Kevin Curren to become the youngest Wimbledon men’s singles champion in history. When Becker successfully defended it in 1985, against Ivan Lendl, he was still younger than any previous champion. However, without detracting anything from Becker’s performances, it needs to be said that Curren never won a major’s singles title, whilst Lendl, despite a glittering career which included eight majors titles, and four semi-final and two finals appearances at Wimbledon, eventually retired without a grass court major. Djokovich, on the other hand, already had 23 majors’ singles titles, including seven at Wimbledon, when he fell at this year’s final against Alcaraz, the Wimbledon singles winner with the least previous experience on grass.

What followed in the decade after 1985 were fascinating duels, at the other majors as well, within a group of highly-talented players, the most prominent amongst them being Edberg, Lendl, Sampras, Ivanisevic, Courier and Agassi.

However, absent was the overpowering dominance demonstrated in the last couple of decades by the afore-mentioned “Big Three”. Except for Sampras’s supremacy at Wimbledon, there was a more equitable sharing of the major titles. The exit of Sampras, Agassi and Courier, hastened by the likes of Federer, then paved the way for the installation of the European triumvirate, Swiss, Serb and Spaniard.

Already, there are signs of a similar future top level rivalry, if players such as Jannik Sinner, Caspar Ruud, Holger Rune and Felix Auger-Aliassime are able to live up to present promise, and find that edge, the extra spark, essential if they are to cross the finish line on the big stage. Carlos Alcaraz, younger than all of them, has already shown the world that he has what it takes, and barring unforeseen circumstances, seems destined to lead a new group of tennis world beaters.

The weight of expectation Alcaraz carries with him, is greater by an order of magnitude than the combined weight of the two major trophies he now owns. Already, the pundits, including former greats like Connors and Wilander, are speculating on the number of major titles that he is likely to win. But, whilst peer esteem, audience adulation and media hype are seductive and heady elixirs, they also carry with them the potential for ruin.

There are innumerable examples of young hopefuls being crushed, not only in Tennis but in other sports as well, as a result of being side-tracked by overpowering publicity, easy money, the blinding glitter of international stardom and the inability to deliver on unrealistic expectations. For the moment the young Spaniard from Murcia has returned to the modest apartment- above the kebab shop, ” Turquesa Kebab & Pizza”- that he shares with his parents. Given the high-profile lives of most sporting celebrities, it seems an unlikely base from which to mount an assault on the fortress of international tennis. But the longer he stays firmly anchored to his roots, and matures without losing his charming simplicity, the greater his chances of later success.