Novak Djokovic admits Carlos Alcaraz deserved to be the year-end World No 1 for being the consistent performer of the year
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Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz - FirstSportz
Spaniard prodigy Carlos Alcaraz has been the breakthrough performer of the year. He created history to become the youngest ever World No 1 after his maiden Grand Slam title win at the US Open. He carved his niche at such a young age especially in the dominant era of players like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Serbian legend heaped in praises for the 19-year-old for his consistency throughout the year.
He has won four ATP tournaments in the year apart from the US Open victory. He shot to fame when he defeated Nadal in the quarterfinals, Djokovic in the semifinals and Alexander Zverev in the finals of the Italian Open to clinch his sixth ATP title. Despite having a remarkable year, his abdominal injury gave his 2022 campaign an abrupt ending. He was forced to withdraw his quarterfinal match against the eventual winner Holger Rune.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner admitted that Alcaraz deserved to be the World No 1 at the year-end rankings without any doubt. He even stated that he is proud of his achievements throughout the year and acknowledged the fact that he has been very consistent with hard work and complete dedication for the game.
“Alcaraz deserved his first place. He won a Slam, many matches and tournaments. He is a very nice guy. He represents tennis in a good way,” said the former World No 1 during a post-match interview at the 2022 ATP Finals. The Wimbledon champion has been the year-end World No 1 for a record seven times.
Carlos Alcaraz becomes the youngest-ever player to be the year-end World No 1
The 2022 US Open champion could not compete at the Year-end Championship in Turin and even at Davis Cup following his abdominal injury followed by a six-weeks rest and recovery. Carlos Alcaraz didn’t had much success post his triumph at Flushing Meadows. But that did not hamper much of his rankings, since he added a new feat to his kitty by becoming the youngest ever year-end World No 1 in the history of tennis.
The young Spaniard will claim the year-end World No 1 with his age just being 19 years and 6 months. There was a slight chance for Stefanos Tsitsipas to dethrone him with the condition that he would have to win the ATP Finals without losing a single match. But it ended with his loss at the first round robin match of the Red Group against Novak Djokovic.
Also Read: Novak Djokovic applauds Andrey Rublev’s impressive cross-court backhand slice at the 2022 ATP Finals
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)