Carlos Alcaraz: rare tennis talent with shades of Federer

The 22-year-old is on the verge of becoming the youngest man to win all four majors, surpassing legendary fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Nadal was 24 when he did it.

Standing in his way in the Australian Open men's final on Sunday is Novak Djokovic, who won his first title at Melbourne Park when Alcaraz was still barely old enough to hold a racquet.

Neither Nadal nor Djokovic were his heroes growing up -- that was Roger Federer.

"Federer, the class he had, the way he got people to see tennis -- that was beautiful," Alcaraz said in 2023.

"Watching Federer is like looking at a work of art. It's elegance, he did everything magnificently. I became enchanted by him."

Alcaraz shares plenty of the same attributes -- daring, range, tactical flexibility, and style.

The modest, muscular star from the small town of El Palmar in Spain's south-east hit the giant-killing jackpot at Madrid in 2022 when he became the only man to defeat both Nadal and Djokovic at the same clay-court event.

For good measure, he achieved it on back-to-back days on his way to the title.

When he won his maiden Slam, at the US Open the same year, he became the youngest champion of a men's major since Nadal at the 2005 French Open.

He was also the youngest man to ascend to the world number one ranking.

His Roland Garros coronation in 2024 ensured he was the youngest to win Grand Slam titles on clay, grass and hard courts, with a yet another record now within his grasp.

"Obviously completing the career Grand Slam is something amazing to do, be able to be the youngest is even better," he said in Melbourne.

Ominously, Alcaraz is still getting better and he has developed nerves of steel, refusing to give up even when the odds are against him.

He demonstrated that never-say-die attitude in his semi-final in Melbourne against Alexander Zverev, battling through cramp and a 3-5 deficit in the fifth set to pull off a huge win.

"I just hate giving up. I just don't want to feel that way," he said.

"When I was younger there were a lot of matches that I just didn't want to fight anymore or I just gave up.

"Then I just got mature, and I just hate that feeling (losing).

"Every step more, every one second more of suffering, one second more of fighting is always worth it," he added.
Nadal heir apparent
At his side for most of his career was coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 French Open winner, before they split late last year.

Ferrero brought Alcaraz into his academy in Valencia, 120km from El Palmar.

His raw potential soon attracted sponsors, with marquee brands such as Nike and Rolex rushing to sign up Nadal's heir apparent.

The tennis team around the prodigy was expanded and soon included a physical trainer, a physiotherapist and the support of psychologists and doctors.

An indication of his potential was obvious at the Rio clay-court event in 2020 when he was just 16, and ranked 406 in the world.

He shocked Albert Ramos-Vinolas to register his first ATP win, and it set him on the path to superstardom.

Alcaraz, who learned the game at a tennis school run by his father, captured his maiden ATP trophy in 2021.

Fiercely protective of his private life, he has many of the same friends he hung out with as a child.

He credits chess as instrumental in his development.

"I love chess. Having to concentrate, to play against someone else, strategy, having to think ahead.

"I think all of that is very similar to the tennis court," he said in a 2023 Vogue interview.

"You have to intuit where the other player is going to send the ball, you have to move ahead of time, and try to do something that will make him uncomfortable.

"So I play it a lot."