Carlos Alcaraz chases Nadal and Federer

Carlos Alcaraz is making history from its beginnings in the elite. The sequence of his achievements in this 2021 season, with only 17 years old, is within the reach of very few chosen ones. First beat David Goffin at the Great Ocean Road Open, which meant his first win against a top-15 in the world ranking (old number 7). Then he entered the final draw of his first Grand Slam, at the Australian Open, where he achieved his first match won in a major. And this week, in the Andalucía Open held in Marbella, the Murcian has reached the semifinals of an ATP tournament for the first time in his career. Sensational.

But there is not the thing for the pupil of Juan Carlos Ferrero, since reviewing its data of precocity it is possible to understand the magnitude of its recent exploits. If you beat Jaume Munar this Saturday in the semifinals, Alcaraz would surpass the triumphs of a certain Roger Federer with his same age, that is, with less than 18 years of age. As reflected in the list prepared by the portal TennisMyLife, the Murcian would add his eighth triumph as a minor, while the one from Basel remained in seven victories. Of course, there are other illustrious names such as Rafael Nadal (31), Andre Agassi (49), Boris becker (58), Michael Chang (72) or the famous Bjorn Borg (110), whose precocious adolescent talent remains unattainable by any mortal.

As if all this were not motivating enough on its own, Alcaraz will also have another stimulus to reach the final in Marbella. And it is that to achieve it would be the Youngest ATP tournament finalist since his idol Nadal in Auckland, where he fought for the title in 2004 at the age of 17. At that point he would direct his gaze to Lleyton Hewitt as the last youngest tournament champion, at the age of 16 in Adelaide (1998). There is no doubt that a star has been born.