Winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season is one of the toughest challenges in tennis. Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are on the exclusive list of 'Channel Slam' warriors, and Carlos Alcaraz joined them this summer! The Spaniard conquered two Major titles within a couple of weeks, becoming the youngest 'Channel Slam' conqueror at 21 years and two months. Patrick Mouratoglou praised Alcaraz's feat, calling it the ultimate test of our sport and highlighting the skills required to accomplish that. A year ago, Carlos sought the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, reaching the semi-final in Paris and lifting a trophy in London. Twelve months later, the young gun passed 14 obstacles at the European Majors to write history books.
Alcaraz claims his first Roland Garros title
Eager to go further than a year ago in Paris, Carlos passed all the challenges on Court Philippe-Chatrier to lift a beautiful trophy. The Spaniard trailed two sets to one in the semi-final and final, overcoming those obstacles and becoming the first player since 1961 to achieve that at Roland Garros. The 21-year-old ousted three top-30 players en route to the semi-final. Alcaraz played against the soon-to-become world no. 1 Jannik Sinner and prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in four hours and nine minutes. Unlike 12 months ago when cramps ruined his campaign, the young Spaniard was ready for this one, fighting hard in sets four and five and moving over the top. Facing the exit door, Carlos embraced 11 consecutive holds and broke Jannik's resistance after the third set for a notable triumph.
We saw six breaks on each side, and the younger player preserved his successful return games for the crucial moments, ousting his great rival and setting the title clash against Alexander Zverev. Like Sinner, the Rome Masters champion stood two sets to one in front against the Spaniard before Alcaraz bested him 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 and celebrated his first Roland Garros crown at 21. Chasing his first Major trophy, the German gave everything in the opening three sets, embracing two streaks of five consecutive games in sets two and three and moving closer to the finish line. Keeping his composure, Carlos launched an impressive comeback and dominated sets for and five en route to his third Major crown. The Spaniard turned 45% of the return points into nine breaks from 16 opportunities while losing serve six times, mostly in sets two and three.
Carlos defends the Wimbledon crown and achieves 'Channel Slam'
Eager for more, the 21-year-old pursued the Wimbledon title defense and a rare 'Channel Slam' a few weeks later. Defending a Major is always challenging, especially at a young age. However, Alcaraz passed all the obstacles and claimed back-to-back Wimbledon trophies, earning his fourth Major crown at 21 and becoming the youngest 'Channel Slam' conqueror. Carlos faced issues in the opening week, struggling to find his A-game and barely surviving against Frances Tiafoe. The Spaniard lost a set in the fourth round, the quarter-final and semi-final. Still, he claimed them in four sets, avoiding a decider and passing Daniil Medvedev en route to the title clash against Novak Djokovic. In the repeat of last year's final, Alcaraz toppled the seven-time champion 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 in two hours and 27 minutes, defending the title and writing history books.
Djokovic stood powerless in the opening two sets, with the young gun serving well and taking charge on the return. Carlos played against three break points, two in the opener, losing serve once in the third set while serving for the title at 5-4. Novak lost 42% of the points in his games and played against 14 break points, getting broken five times and finishing runner-up despite a fine performance in the third set. Alcaraz tamed his strokes nicely, attacking first and controlling everything until 6-2, 6-2, 5-4. The Spaniard opened the action with a break of serve and delivered another in game five for 4-1.
The young gun served for the set in game eight and produced another reliable hold for an early advantage. Nothing changed in the second set, with Carlos serving well and presenting two breaks for a massive 6-2, 6-2 advantage after 75 minutes! With his back pushed against the wall, Djokovic saved four break points early in the third set and earned a rare break chance in the sixth game. Alcaraz denied it and stepped in on the return at 4-4. He fired a couple of winners and broke his rival for a 5-4 lead, serving for the title in game ten. Eager to extend the battle, Novak denied three match points and welcomed Carlos' forehand mistakes en route to his only break and 5-5. The set went into a tie break, and they traded mini-breaks for 3-3. Alcaraz raised his level and grabbed four of the following five points, landing a service winner at 6-4 and defending the Wimbledon crown.
"Carlos achieved probably the most challenging task of our sport, winning back-to-back tournaments completely opposite in terms of qualities required to win. At Roland Garros, you have to slide and use your spin in extended exchanges. At Wimbledon, you are facing big servers and have to play aggressive tennis with less spin. Also, they are only a few weeks apart, which makes the challenge even tougher. What he has achieved at 21 is incredible, and we should expect more from him at Majors in the next ten years," Patrick Mouratoglou said.
