Carlos Alcaraz continued to rewrite the history books at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he defeated Alexander Zverev on Sunday to earn his ATP Tour-leading fourth title of the season.
It was another accomplishment in a year full of astonishing achievement for the Spanish teen. Alcaraz’s victory at the Caja Magica in front of his home fans might have been his most impressive effort yet.
The 19-year-old defeated World No. 4 Rafael Nadal, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and World No. 3 Zverev to become the youngest player in the history of the ATP Tour (since 1990) to oust three of the top five players in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at the same event. No other teen had previously done so. The next-youngest player who earned three such victories was 20-year-old Novak Djokovic in 2007 at Montreal, where he upset World No. 3 Andy Roddick, World No. 2 Nadal and World No. 1 Roger Federer to claim the title.
Alcaraz, who also triumphed in Miami, became the second-youngest player to win two ATP Masters 1000 titles. Only Nadal was younger when he accomplished the feat at 18 in 2005. The pupil of former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero also claimed his fifth tour-level title in Madrid, becoming the youngest to do so since Nadal, also in 2005.
Alcaraz is the youngest champion in the history of three of the four tournaments he has won this year: Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Madrid. His victory in Rio de Janeiro made him the youngest ATP 500 champion in series history (152 events).
One year ago, Alcaraz had still not cracked the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. This year, he became the youngest to break into the Top 20 since Andrei Medvedev in 1993 and the youngest to crack the Top 10 since Nadal in 2005. On Monday, Alcaraz will move to a career-high World No. 6.
Alcaraz Topples Zverev For Madrid Title
More Stats To Know:
– The Spaniard in Madrid became the first player to eliminate Nadal and Djokovic at the same clay-court event.
– He became the youngest player to defeat both Nadal and Djokovic. Only 11 other players have done it at the same tournament, and he is just the fifth to accomplish the feat on consecutive days.
– Alcaraz has won seven consecutive matches against Top 10 opponents dating back to the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he earned his maiden Masters 1000 crown.
– The Spaniard now leads the ATP Tour with 28 tour-level wins this year, putting him now victory ahead of Stefanos Tsitsipas. His four titles is also best on Tour, ahead of Nadal and Andrey Rublev, who have three each.
– Alcaraz now has a 61-21 record in his career. Earlier in the year, the Spaniard reached 50 wins in his 70th tour-level match. No player who has reached No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings earned his 50th tour-level victory in fewer matches.