Carlos Alvarez Defeats the GOAT to Start his Own Legendary Journey

By: Drew Covington

Carlos Alcarez became the youngest tennis player ever to complete a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open last Sunday. 

Last Sunday, February 1st, at 3 AM, history was made. #1-ranked Carlos Alcarez faced off against arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, #4-ranked Novak Djokovic, in Melbourne, Australia, for the Australian Open final. Alcarez won three sets to one and took home the championship, with the match lasting over three hours.  

Courtesy: Getty Images

“Honestly, it’s one of the best things in sports,” said Jude Killikelly, a third-year computer information systems major and also a member of the Hampton University Tennis Team from Queens, New York. “It has to be one of the best stories in sports right now because he’s literally 22. Like it’s not regular, it’s legendary.”

Alcarez on Sunday became the youngest tennis player in history to complete a career Grand Slam at the age of 22 years and 272 days. Completing a career Grand Slam means winning the four major championships—the US Open, Australian Open, Roland-Garros/French Open, and Wimbledon—at least once in your career. Alcarez, who was born in Spain, started playing tennis at the age of four and turned pro in 2018. Since going pro 8 years ago, Alcarez has risen to the #1 ranked spot and has seven major titles. 

“Yeah, he could definitely get 30 [majors]. It’s definitely possible,” Killikelly said, predicting the trajectory of Alcarez’s career. “I feel like people don’t know how hard it is to get a grand slam, in comparison to an NBA Championship or Super Bowl. You have to figure it out yourself. It’s a chess match at the highest level.” 

The next major is the French Open at the end of May, and we’ll see if Alcarez can continue to make history then, but even now, he’s making history and inspiring his generation. “Being able to do so much and achieve so much at a young age, it definitely inspires me,” said Killikelly.