Can Carlos Alcaraz be Termed as the Tennis superstar, after his Monte Carlo Masters Title?
Carlos Alcaraz, the dynamic tennis player is the reigning world number 3 as of the latest ATP men’s rankings. The 21-year-old Spainard created history on April 13, Sunday, by clinching his first ever Monte Carlo Masters title.
He defeated the Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti, with scores of 3-6, 6-1 and 6-0, making it a pretty one-sided match.
This victory marks a sixth Masters title for the four-time Grand Slam winner, and his most prestigious title since winning the Wimbledon against legendary Novak Djokovic last year.
“I’m just really happy to have won Monte Carlo for the first time, it’s been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations”, expressed Carlos after he had previously appeared in 2022 in the same tournament but was knocked out in the initial round itself. Alcaraz, who will now move up a place in the rankings and displace the current No. 2 Alexander Zverev to take his position has shown a tremendous display of hard work and balance, so that he claims this much needed win.
At one-point Musetti had dropped his opening service but then fought his way back into the first set as Alcaraz appeared at odds with his game. The Spaniard bounced back, however, lifting his game as he pranced through the second set 6-1. Musetti began to have problems with his leg and took medical time-out to attend it. He tried his best to sustain the battle but unfortunately could not live up to the intensity or physicality of Alcaraz’s game.
Carlos with this thumping victory won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title and has announced his preparation for the upcoming European clay-court season on a high note, with the vigour to defend his French Open title at the Roland Garros event.
Some consolation for Musetti is a rise to No 11 in the rankings and the promise of more to come on the clay as the season builds towards the French Open at Roland Garros next month.
Ever since he picked up the French Open trophy last year, Alcaraz has been a dominant force on the clay courts, with a 17-1 single’s record. His lone setback in that tenure has been against Novak Djokovic, in the iconic encounter at the Paris 2024 Olympic final.
With his professional career starting at a young age of 15, he won his first Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open at the age of 18, followed by his second at the Madrid Open.
Alcaraz won his first major title at the 2022 US Open, becoming the youngest man and the first male teenager to top the singles rankings, a marvellous feat to accomplish.
Soon after in 2023, Carlos claimed his second major title at Wimbledon, defeating the four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic. In 2024, he won his third and fourth major titles at the French Open and Wimbledon respectively, followed by an Olympic silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The win at Monte Carlo makes Carlos Alcaraz move to world No. 2 rank, ahead of Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who will replace him as the world number 3 presently.
The young lad has proved his prowess as a powerful tennis athlete and shown the world he is a master of his craft. With a long journey ahead, Alcaraz’s glory in Monaco has set the tone for the new season in complete style.
