10 stunning feats Carlos Alcaraz achieved with his record breaking run at the Miami Open
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Carlos Alcaraz
Spanish teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4 in the finals of the 2022 Miami Open to win his maiden Masters 1000 title. Touted to be one of the Next Gen stars, Alcaraz is already living up to his potential and is already making his mark as a top player. On a historical night at the Hard Rock Stadium, the Spaniard etched his name in the history books with a stunning triumph in the finals. Take a look at the top 10 things the teenager achieved with his record-breaking win in Miami.
1.Youngest Miami Open champion
Aged 18 years and 333 days, Alcaraz became the youngest champion in the tournament’s 37-year-old history breaking Novak Djokovic’s record from 2007, who was aged 19years and 10 months when he won the tournament- then named NASDAQ-100 Open.
2. First Spanish man to win a title in Miami
Prior to this finals, Spanish players had a 0-8 losing streak, with Rafael Nadal himself having a dismal 0-5 record, in the summit clash in Miami. Alcaraz finally managed to break the finals curse and managed to do what Nadal couldn’t in his illustrious career, and lift the Miami Open title.
3. Ends 29 year title drought for Spain
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was the only player from Spain to lift the title in Miami, with two wins in 1992 and 1993. Now, Alcaraz has finally broken the finals deadlock to become the second Spaniard to emerge triumphant at the Miami Open.
4. Third youngest player to win Masters 1000 title
His exploits in Miami have put Alcaraz third on the list of youngest champions in Masters 1000 history. Michael Chang in 1990 Toronto ( 18 years and 5 months) and Rafael Nadal in 2005 Monte Carlo( 18 years and 10 months) are the only other players to lift a Masters crown before turning 19.
5. Positive head-to-head record against top 10 players
Alcaraz holds a 7-6 win-loss record over players ranked in the top 10, three of which came in Miami when he defeated World No.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round, World No.10 Hubert Hurkacz in the semis, and World No.8 Casper Ruud in the finals.
6. Debuts in the top-15
Alcaraz was ranked outside the top-30 at the start of the season but now with his meteoric rise, he is all set to achieve his career-high ranking of 11th place post Miami and is into the top-15 for the first time in his career. He is just 29 points behind World No.10 Cameron Norrie and a top-10 debut seems imminent with clay court swing beginning soon.
7. Ranks among the Big-3 to amass 50 tour wins
With his semi-final win in Miami, Alcaraz became the second youngest player to record 50 career wins, just behind Rafael Nadal. He is now in the company of the famed Big-3, with Roger Federer and Djokovic occupying 3rd and 4th spot.
8. Unbeaten in ATP Finals
Alcaraz is yet to drop a set in title clashes at ATP tournaments. The Spaniard holds a 3-0 winning streak in the finals, with triumphs in Croatia Open (2021), Rio Open (2022), and now Miami Open (2022). This is his 4th silverware adding up on the Next Gen Finals he won last year.
9. Holds a 18-2 win-loss record this year
Alcaraz has had a stellar 2022 season so far, recording 18 wins at the expense of only 2 losses, both of which went the distance. One of which was a closely fought third round clash against Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open and the other a three set thriller to Rafael Nadal at the Indian Wells. He is also only the third player behind Nadal (20-1) and Andrey Rublev (18-4) to record 18 wins this year.
10. Better winning percentage on hard courts
Alcaraz is well known for his prowess on clay courts, but ironically his first Masters title came on hard courts. He also holds a better winning percentage on hard courts with 32-12 at 72.7%, just edging out his record on clay with 18-7 at a winning percentage of 72%, and on grass it’s a deadlock at 1-1.
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