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Carlos Alcaraz Garfia advances to the third round at Murcia Challenger

His name is Carlos Alcaraz Garfia and he's one to watch for years to come. In fact, you should be watching him right now.

It's not often that a 15-year-old earns his first ATP Rankings points, registering multiple match wins on the ATP Challenger Tour, but that's exactly what Alcaraz has done in April. The Spaniard is making a splash in the initial stages of his professional journey, and on Wednesday he crashed onto the scene with his first Top 200 victory.

Alcaraz registered a 6-3, 7-6(4) upset of countryman and World No. 140 Pedro Martinez at the Murcia Open. Nearly 17 years ago, it was another 15-year-old Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, who took his first steps as a professional with a Top 200 stunner of his own (d. No. 81 Ramon Delgado) in Mallorca. And this week, his younger countryman is the one grabbing the headlines.

Demonstrating great poise, agility and court instincts, Alcaraz exhibited his potential at the inaugural ATP Challenger Tour event. The teen's skills were on full display in front of a packed crowd at the Murcia Club de Tenis, as he rallied from a break down in the second set to eventually prevail after one hour and 47 minutes.

Competing in the first ATP Challenger Tour events of his young career, Alcaraz became the first player born in 2003 to win a match last week in nearby Alicante. And this week, he is already into the third round in Murcia with two more victories.

Alcaraz puts himself in strong company with his win over Martinez on Wednesday. He is not only the first player aged 15 & under to upset a Top 200 opponent since Ryan Harrison in 2008 (ATP Houston), but he is just the fifth 15-year-old to do so in the past 20 years. The others? Nadal, Richard Gasquet and Bernard Tomic. In fact, Nadal was just nine days younger when he achieved the feat in Mallorca.

Youngest To Defeat A Top 200 Player (since 2000)
Player Age Opponent Tournament
Bernard Tomic
15 years, 2 months No. 147 Jimmy Wang
2008 Australian Open qualifying
Richard Gasquet
15 years, 9 months
No. 54 Franco Squillari
2002 Monte-Carlo
Rafael Nadal
15 years, 10 months
No. 81 Ramon Delgado
2002 Mallorca
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia
15 years, 11 months, 5 days
No. 140 Pedro Martinez
2019 Murcia Challenger
Ryan Harrison
15 years, 11 months, 7 days
No. 95 Pablo Cuevas
2008 Houston

Alcaraz will look to win his third match in three days when he faces fellow teen Rudolf Molleker on Thursday. A spot in the quarter-finals is at stake. And if you're looking ahead to the weekend, the only player younger than the Spaniard to win a Challenger title was Michael Chang at 15 years, seven months in Las Vegas in 1987. History awaits.