Tennis has waited more than a decade for a player to emerge with the game and mental fortitude to shake up the “Big Three” establishment.
On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz signalled the wait may finally be over as he captured his fourth ATP title of the season at the Madrid Open and affirmed himself as a genuine threat for the French Open title.
The 19-year-old Spaniard thrashed Alex Zverev 6-3 and 6-1 in the clay court final, having already toppled “Big Three” titans Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in a watershed week.
Of his heroics, Alcaraz says: “Right now I’m trying to just assimilate everything that I am going through.
“People are going to think that I’m going to be one of the favourites to win Roland Garros.
“I don’t have it as tension, I have it as a motivation."
Outside the top 100 a year ago, Alcaraz is now ranked sixth and is a serious threat in the Paris tournament which starts next week.