Carlos Alcaraz holds the trophy after winning his first tournament in eight months. Photograph: Ryan Sun/AP
Carlos Alcaraz doesn’t think of himself as a star, or a phenom. He leaves that to the rest of us.
Carlos Alcaraz has been a rising rocket of a tennis player ever since he hit the ATP Tour, securing his first win in dramatic fashion against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Rio.
Remember that spectacular performance? Alcaraz became the first player born in 2003 to win a match on tour, saving three match points in a match that lasted well over three hours (3:37 to be exact) and finished after 3 AM.
He was just 16 at the time…
And ranked 406, but he wouldn’t be for long.
Alcaraz was named the ATP’s Newcomer of the Year in 2020, and finished the season at 141. A tremendous jump, but nothing like the one we saw from the start of 2021 to the end of 2022, when Alcaraz rose all the way to the top of the ATP rankings to become the first teenager to ever hold the No 1 ranking and the youngest player to ever lock down the year-end No 1 ranking.
So, yeah, the man they call Carlitos is one of the biggest stars in the tennis galaxy, even if he isn’t ready to see himself that way.
Speaking on Thursday in Buenos Aires, where he aims to successfully defend the title, Alcaraz said that he doesn’t consider himself a phenom, or a star, or, as the Spanish term goes, ‘a crack’. At this stage of this career, the 20-year-old still considers himself a young apprentice.
“I don’t consider myself a star player,” he said, according to the Spanish website Marca. “I consider myself a very good player, who knows how to deal with certain moments.”
A young apprentice who is already a certain Hall of Famer? Maybe so, but Alcaraz is humble in nature and prefers to focus on the work that lies in front of him.
“Even though I am only 20 years old, I have already experienced situations that have helped me a lot to face certain games, I already have some experience, but I don’t consider myself a star,” he reiterated. “I consider Federer, Rafa and Djokovic, and some others stars.”
The real stars of tennis are the Big Three, Alcaraz says. He’s not shy about admitting he’d like to be in the same class as them in the future, but for now, he knows his place.
“To call yourself a star you have to be very good at everything, and I have a lot to improve. I have achieved great things, but I still have a lot left. to have that word,” he said.
