Carlos Alcaraz is the guy

A French Open win at the weekend adds another Grand Slam to his trophy cabinet, as tennis eases into a new era.

A Spanish tennis sensation, winning the French Open on clay in truly incredible fashion, well done to Rafael Nad… hold on, wait a second…!

On Sunday, as the 21-year-old superstar Carlos Alcaraz ducked and dove his way to a first French Open title at Roland-Garros, it was hard not to be reminded of his compatriot, Nadal, and how he dominated the clay surface at the French classic with such raw power, sheer will and iron fortitude, bending the court to his every will.

As the dust settled on the year’s second Grand Slam event, one in which Novak Djokovic had to bow out to injury and give a quarter-final walkover after a grueling fourth round tango with Argentinean Francisco Cerundolo, it’s hard not to be reflective of the sport of tennis as a new era steps into the foreground, and wonder how the game is shaping up for the future.

Tennis, if you hadn’t noticed, has been dominated by the same couple of faces for quite some time now. Roger Federer, arguably the best of the lot although there will be plenty who’d argue ferociously on that, was the first to bow out of the game, 20 Grand Slams deep, whilst Nadal, in a never-ending battle with his own body’s limitations, may have just signed off on his last ever French tournament, a competition that will forever be known as his. He won 22 Grand Slams, an astonishing 14 of which came at Roland-Garros. He is the French Open and the French Open is Rafael Nadal.

And as the Serbian overlord Djokovic ages gracefully, 37 now but seemingly with some mileage left in the tank before he voluntarily relinquishes any power over to the new kids on the block, the realm of men’s tennis feels in a slightly precarious position as it moves on from these legends that have held such a stranglehold on the game for such a long time.

Alas, fear not, as Alcaraz seals his name in the annals of the dusty clay surfaces of Paris, one more mountain summited in his quick and impressive advancement towards a career Grand Slam across all four of the major houses of tennis. He has every shot in his locker, piecing together various attributes from those who came before him—Federer’s guile, Nadal’s power and ferociousness and Djokovic’s never-say-die ability to hunt and smother his opponents.

The worry is can those around Alcaraz keep pace with his star and make the game a multi-pronged attack. A one-horse race each major tournament will do no good for the game’s marketability, despite Alcaraz’s supreme talent, and the reduction in much jeopardy won’t exactly make the finals appointment viewing as they once were.

At the moment, his main challenger is Italian Jannik Sinner, this year’s Australian Open champion, who was felled by Alcaraz in the semi-final in Paris, but he’s already a world number one at 22-year-old and has more than enough talent to add to his Grand Slam haul. They will no doubt dual it out for many years to come, but Alcaraz so far has the edge and a head-to-head of 5-4.

Norway’s Casper Ruud has made three Grand Slam finals, and may be able to make hay in a post-Djokovic world. Stefanos Tsitsipas is a super talent from Greece and is another who could break his Grand Slam duck, having been cast deep into Djokovic’s shadow, losing twice to him in French and Australian Open finals. Then we wait to see what Denmark’s Holger Rune or Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada are made of, fantastic young talents in their own right but risk falling into bridesmaid status in an effort to keep step with the Spaniard, while Ben Shelton is America’s great hope to bring success back to those shores.

The likes of Alexander Zverev of Germany, who’s off-court issues have placed a dark cloud over any possible satisfaction of his on-court ability, is another capable challenger, but at 27 can by no means be categorized as young star.

So, as tennis moves from one generation of superstars to the next, Carlos Alcaraz is very much the guy right now. He will win a litany of Grand Slams and dominate the sport just like his predecessors, with aspirations towards surpassing the accolades racked up by Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. But without a true sparring partner, like each of the three aforementioned had for many years of their careers, tennis risks becoming a bit of an afterthought.

If there’s one chink in his armor, it’s that he’s been relatively injury prone thus far in his young career. The wear and tear of tennis on the body is extreme, with only the elite few capable of withstanding so much punishment game after game and week after week. Nadal has been held together by glue and duct tape by the end of his career, and Alcaraz’s similar all-action style has already seen him pick up muscle tears in his abdomen, strains in his hamstrings, recurring left wrist pain and even muscular discomfort in his spine. His greatest adversary could turn out to be his own body.

Alcaraz is the superstar the game will be built on for the next decade and more, but Djokovic won’t be stepping aside without a fight. With Wimbledon coming up in a few weeks, Novak will be eyeing possibly one last hurrah at the All-England Club and match Roger Federer’s eight titles and get revenge on last year’s defeat to Alcaraz in the final.

Alcaraz will be going for back-to-back titles, and although the 2023 final could be seen as the changing of the guard, this year may have more riding it if it turns out to be Djokovic’s last big chance on the hallowed grass of Wimbledon.

After that, for tennis, who knows—but for Alcaraz, this is his arena now.

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ICYMI: Ahead of this Friday’s Euro 2024 kick-off, take a look at my preview guide along with some predictions.