New age Alcaraz wins US Open

Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz claimed his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open on Sunday, becoming the youngest man to ascend to the world number one ranking and cementing his status as the poster boy of tennis’ new wave.

The 19-year-old dragged his weary body to a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 victory over Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final.

Alcaraz, the first teenager to claim the top ranking, is the youngest Grand Slam men’s champion since his idol Rafael Nadal at the 2005 French Open.

On a day of landmarks, he is also the youngest champion in New York since Pete Sampras in 1990.

“Right now I’m enjoying the moment. I’m enjoying having the trophy in my hands. But, of course, I’m hungry for more,” said Alcaraz.

“I want to be in the top for many, many weeks and hopefully many years. I’m going to work hard again after this week, this amazing two weeks. I’m going to fight for more of this.”

Despite being at the vanguard of tennis’s modern era, his performance on Sunday also contained elements of a bygone age -- he won 15 points off 21 serve-and-volley attempts.

It was a gruelling tournament for Alcaraz.

On Sunday, he claimed the record for most time spent on court at a single Grand Slam, passing the 23 hours and 21 minutes it took Kevin Anderson to finish runner-up at Wimbledon in 2018.

Most of his 23 hours and 40 minutes were taken up by the more than 13 hours it took him to play three successive five-setters to reach the final.

Nadal was quick to congratulate the player widely seen as his successor.

“Congratulations @carlosalcaraz for your first Grand Slam and for number 1, which is the culmination of your great season. I am sure there will be many more,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner tweeted.

The US Open is Alcaraz’s fifth trophy of 2022 following Masters triumphs in Miami and Madrid as well as Rio and Barcelona.

Still in his teens, his career earnings are already close to $10 million.