We knew, this US Open final would bring a double dose of happiness for its winner. So this is Carlos Alcaraz after beating Casper Ruud in four sets on Sunday evening. The cake is obviously this first important title. It would have been no less beautiful, no less impressive, no less moving without this number one place in the world. But the cherry is pretty damn beautiful too.
While this power grab might initially only be ephemeral as the gaps at the top are narrow, it remains no less historic. At 19 years, 4 months and 7 days, the Alcaraz will become the number one youngest on Monday since the creation of the ATP ranking in 1973. The Spaniard has not only broken this record. He pulverizes it. Never had a player under the age of 20 placed at the top of the hierarchy. The previous record was owned by Lleyton Hewitt, number one for the first time at 20 years and nearly 9 months.
US Open
Long live King Alcaraz!
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17 HOURS AGO
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Last winning serve and boundless joy: the historic match point in Alcaraz
Young people in power
This is all the more impressive as time has somewhat aged for the men’s tennis elite over the past decade. Not long ago, the Top 10 was monopolized almost exclusively by thirty-something. Driven young people (Alexander Zverev was number 3 in the world at 20), Jannik Sinner also performed very well very early on, but it is almost paradoxical that the youngest number one in history was born in our day. An extra sign, if needed, which testifies to the extraordinary side of Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protégé.
Of course, his accession to the throne was accelerated by certain circumstances. Starting with the fact that in the last 52 weeks Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have only been able to play intermittently. The Serbian has only played nine tournaments in this period, the Spaniard ten. We can discuss, when there is still time, whether Carlos Alcaraz is already indisputably the best player in the world. But he is number one in the world and, frankly, this costume suits him perfectly.
The 28 number ones in the world
| Nom | Pay | Date |
| Ilie Nastase | Romania | 23/08/1973 |
| John Newcombe | Australia | 03/06/1974 |
| Jimmy Connors | UNITED STATES | 07/29/1974 |
| Bjorn Borg | Sweden | 23/08/1977 |
| John McEnroe | UNITED STATES | 03/03/1980 |
| Ivan Lendl | Czechoslovakia | 02/28/1983 |
| Mats Wilander | Sweden | 12/09/1988 |
| Stefan Edberg | Sweden | 08/13/1990 |
| Boris Becker | Germany | 17/02/1991 |
| Jim Courier | UNITED STATES | 10/02/1992 |
| Pete Sampras | UNITED STATES | 12/04/1993 |
| Andre Agassi | UNITED STATES | 10/04/1995 |
| Thomas Muster | Austria | 02/12/1996 |
| Marcelo Rios | kilos | 30/03/1998 |
| Carlos Moia | Spain | 15/03/1999 |
| Yevgeny Kafelnikov | Russia | 03/05/1999 |
| Patrizio Trave | Australia | 02/08/1999 |
| Safe Marat | Russia | 20/11/2000 |
| Gustavo Kuerten | Brazil | 04/12/2000 |
| Leyton Hewitt | Australia | 19/11/2001 |
| Giovanni Carlo Ferrero | Spain | 08/09/2003 |
| Andy Roddick | UNITED STATES | 03/11/2003 |
| Roger Federer | Swiss | 02/02/2004 |
| Rafael Nadal | Spain | 18/08/2008 |
| Novak Djokovic | Serbia | 04/07/2011 |
| Andy Murray | Great Britain | 07/11/2016 |
| Daniel Medvedev | Russia | 02/28/2022 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | 12/09/2022 |
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US Open
LIVE: Watch the final between Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz
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20 HOURS AGO
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US Open
Alcaraz – Ruud: Only one will touch the Grail and sit on the throne
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YESTERDAY AT 11:46
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