Carlos Alcaraz's 2023 season

Carlos Alcaraz pulled off an absolute stunner on Sunday evening on Centre Court of All England Tennis Club. Despite the achievements in his young career and thorough dominance in the grass-court season in the build-up to the 2023 Wimbledon final, he was the underdog against seven-time winner and history-seeking Novak Djokovic. But he did the impossible and defeated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final and clinched his 6th title of the season so we take a look at Carlos Alcaraz's 2023 season.

Australia Open

Carlos Alcaraz's 2023 season didn't start as well as he would've hoped for. He withdrew from the Grand Slam tournament after suffering a hamstring injury in his right leg while training. He was hoping to recover in time for the first Grand Slam of the new season but that didn't happen.

Argentina Open 

After missing the Australian Open due to injuries, Carlos Alcaraz returned to the court in style and won his seventh ATP title and his first since the US Open in 2022. Alcaraz defeated Cameron Norrie in the final, marking his first ATP tournament since November 2022. The victory made Alcaraz the first Spanish player to win the title in Buenos Aires since Rafael Nadal in 2015.

The 19-year-old used a seven-game surge to take command of the final game against Cameron Norrie, turning an early 2-3 deficit into a 6-3 victory. The next game was the longest of the match, as Alcaraz battled through two deuces before sealing victory by 7-5.

Rio Open

The Rio Open was started a week prior to the Argentina Open. Cameron Norrie waited a week for his revenge against top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, rallying from a set and 3-0 down to beat the Spanish teenager in the Rio Open final for his first title of the year.

Alcaraz and Norris went head to head in a tightly fought first set. Alcaraz showed more confidence at the start of the second set and opened a 3-0 advantage against Norrie. But the British player recovered in the middle of the set as Alcaraz felt a bit of pain in his right leg. Norris's strong returns helped him to prevail against a recovering Alvarez and clinch the title with an ace.

Indian Wells Masters

Alcaraz returned to World no. 1 after completing a dominant run to his maiden BNP Paribas Open title. The Spaniard didn't lose a set in Indian Wells matches. Alcaraz was the youngest man to win both legs of the Sunshine Double - Indian Wells and Miami- in his career. He joins the legendary Rafa Nadal, his fellow countryman, as the only player to win at atleast three Masters 1000 titles as a teenager.

Alcaraz handled the windy desert conditions expertly against Medvedev. After racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, Alcaraz won the first 10 points of the second on the way to a 4-0 advantage. Alcaraz hit 18 winners to Medvedev's five and won 10 of 13 net points in an all-action victory. The Spaniard also found success with his patented drop shot time and again, taking advantage of his opponent's deep-court position. Alcaraz wrapped up the statement victory without facing a break point to re-establish himself at the pinnacle of the men's game. 

Miami Open

Carlos Alcaraz had been knocked out of the Miami Open and his chances of winning the 'Sunshine Double' quashed after losing against Italy's  Jannik Sinner in the semi-final. Sinner beat Alcaraz 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 in a hotly-contested semi-final encounter. No man has completed the 'Sunshine Double' (back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Miami) since Roger Federer in 2017.

Sinner's powerfully steady baseline game wore down Alcaraz, who appeared to be cramping early in the decisive third set while he also dealt with an apparent finger injury. He also lost the No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz said the cramping began after taking his five-minute bathroom break after losing the second set. 

Monti-Carlo Masters

Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from Monte Carlo because of the injury he suffered during his semifinal match in the Miami Open.

Read More: https://sportzpoint.com/tennis/8-records-made-by-carlos-alcaraz-in-wimbledon-2023-final-against-djokovic/

Barcelona Open

Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his Barcelona open title which he won on 2022. He won the title without losing a single set the whole week and defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final in straight sets.

The final match featured all the signature stuff Alcaraz usually does when he plays on clay court like winners, good defence and drop shots. He utilized a lot of drop shots with clinical precision and it worked out pretty well. Tsitsipas had an early break in hand but he couldn't handle Alcaraz who kept pushing hard most of the time. The first set finished 6-3 with the second one being 6-4. Alcaraz lost only 7 points on his first serve and only three on his second losing only 10 points on his serve in the entire match.

Madrid Open

After Barcelona Open, Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his Madrid title too.  He beat Jan-Lennard Struff in the final match in three sets. This was Carlos' 21st consecutive match win on Spanish clay.

Alcaraz enjoyed a dream start to the match, breaking Struff's serve in the first game. The German fought back to return the favour in the fourth round but the Spaniard produced another break and closed the set 6-4. Struff's aggressive returns helped him to rush to a 3-0 lead in the second set, which he took 6-3, but Alcaraz woke up in the third round, breaking to lead 3-1 and taking the set 6-3. This victory was the fourth ATP Masters 1000 trophy for Alcaraz.

Italy Open

Then second seed world Carlos Alcaraz suffered his earliest exit in a tournament since October when he was beaten by Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the Italian Open last 32. Spain's Alcaraz was set to replace Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings after the event but lost 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

It was only the 20-year-old's second defeat in 22 matches on clay in 2023. Marozsan, ranked 135th, had never played in the main draw of an ATP Tour event until this week in Rome. Marozsan caused problems for Alcaraz, who made a high number of uncharacteristic errors, with his powerful forehand and lethal drop-shots. Alcaraz saved a break point at 5-5 in the second set which would have left Marozsan serving for the match and led 4-1 in the resulting tie-break. It looked as though the US Open champion might force a decider despite being second-best throughout, but Marozsan stayed cool and fought back by winning the next six points, and defeated Alcaraz.

French Open

Carlos Alcaraz in 2023, was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the French Open semi-final in an emphatic fashion. The Serbian legend took a huge leap towards a record 23rd men's Grand Slam title. French Open 2023 was billed as a clash of titans but it ended in anticlimatic fashion as Djokovic defeated Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-final match.

The 19-year-old was facing the ultimate test against Djokovic, who had bulldozed through the draw, only for the machine to break down in an abrupt fashion. The much-awaited clash had started with Djokovic going for the throat and breaking for 3-1 before saving four break points and taking the opening set after almost an hour. Then the World number one Alcarac leveled the contest when disaster struck as he limped to his bench holding his right leg in the third set. While he continued playing, the US Open champion was clearly hampered but Djokovic was merciless, dropping only one of 12 games to book a spot in the final.

Wimbledon

A month after his body crumbled under the sheer tension of facing Djokovic at the French Open, Alcaraz recovered from a set deficit to perform at a remarkable level across five sets as the No 1 seed defeated Djokovic 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to win his first Wimbledon title.

It was an astonishing match and performance, a victory that required every immeasurable self-belief and sustained shot-making of the highest quality from Alcaraz while playing at a level of intensity that he has never experienced across five sets. Alcaraz's career was already clearly on a trajectory that few 20‑year‑olds have matched, yet the top seed's performance at Wimbledon has somehow outpaced all of the deafening hype.

Record Breaking win

At 20, he is the third youngest player to win the Wimbledon men's singles title, behind only Boris Becker and Björn Borg. His second grand slam title means he is the first new male player to win multiple major titles since Stan Wawrinka in 2015. By halting Djokovic's four-year dominance at Wimbledon, he has denied the 36-year-old the chance of equalling Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles.