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Spanish star turns 20 on Friday
The fire still burns within Carlos Alcaraz.

The Spaniard has accomplished historic feats in his young career. The 19-year-old, who turns 20 on Friday, became the youngest World No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history last year. He won his first major title at the US Open and has already earned three ATP Masters 1000 crowns.

After defeating Karen Khachanov in the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals, the teen made clear he is still hungry for more.

“My dream in tennis right now is to become one of the best tennis players in history,” Alcaraz said. “I know that this is a big dream, [it] probably is too big. But in this world, you have to dream big and you have to think big, as well.”

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Alcaraz played his 150th tour-level match on Wednesday, and is now 117-33 according to Infosys ATP Stats. He has won 78 per cent of his matches, which is better than the career marks of legends including Pete Sampras (77.4%), Boris Becker (76.9%), Guillermo Vilas (76.2%), Andre Agassi (76%), Arthur Ashe (75.4%), Andy Murray (75.2%) and Stefan Edberg (74.8%).

The Spaniard became the youngest champion in Madrid history last year and is two victories from successfully defending his title on home soil.

It would mark the first time he has won a Masters 1000 event two years in a row. Alcaraz does not take such opportunities for granted as he continues his journey.

“I want to be part of the the best tennis players in history,” Alcaraz said. “And I will work for it.”

Spaniard won nine tour-level titles as a teenager
In honour of Carlos Alcaraz's 20th birthday, ATPTour.com celebrates by reliving 20 facts, memories and moments that have made the Spaniard's career historic thus far.

20 – Number of weeks Alcaraz first stayed at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after he rose to top spot following his 2022 US Open triumph.
19 – Alcaraz’s age when he rose to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for first time. He is the only teenager in the Open Era to top the men’s rankings.
18 – Age when he lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in Umag, becoming the youngest tour-level champion since 18-year-old Kei Nishikori won in Delray Beach in 2008.
17 – Beat Botic van de Zandschulp on Court 17 when aged 17 on his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open in 2021.
16 – Years old when he made his tour-level debut. The Spaniard defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(2) in Rio de Janeiro in 2020.
15 – Age when he beat then-World No. 140 Pedro Martinez to earn first Top 200 win. He was not only the first player aged 15 & under to upset a Top 200 opponent since Ryan Harrison in 2008, but he was just the fifth 15-year-old to do so in the past 20 years, joining Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet and Bernard Tomic.
14 – Seed Alcaraz was when he clinched his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.
13 – Age Alcaraz and Nadal's paths would cross for the first time. Alcaraz posed for a picture with the Spaniard after winning a competition on the Rafa Nadal junior tour. They have since met three times on court, with Nadal leading Alcaraz 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.
12 – Number of tour-level finals Alcaraz has played.
11 – September 2022. The date Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 to win the US Open title and climb to No. 1.
10 – The Spaniard climbed into the Top 10 for the first time after winning the title in Barcelona in 2022. Aged 18, he was the youngest player to crack the Top 10 since Nadal did exactly 17 years before after he lifted his first Barcelona trophy.
9 – Number of tour-level titles the Spaniard has won.
8 – Number of five-set wins Alcaraz has earned at Grand Slams, with five coming at the US Open. He has only lost once in a fifth set at a major, coming against Matteo Berrettini at the 2022 Australian Open.
7 – Top 5 wins. The 19-year-old earned his first against then-World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open in 2021.
6 – Alcaraz will play in his sixth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final on his birthday against Borna Coric in Madrid.
5 – Consecutive matches won at the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals to become an undefeated champion at the 21-and-under year-end event.
4 – Number of ATP Masters 1000 crowns.
3 – By defeating Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev en route to the Madrid title in 2022, Alcaraz defeated the Top 3 seeds at the event. He also became the first player to beat the Serbian and Spaniard back-to-back on clay.
2 – In Indian Wells in 2023, Alcaraz defeated Tallon Griekspoor to earn 100 tour-level wins. He was the second fastest player to reach the milestone behind John McEnroe.
1 – His ranking at the end of 2022, making him the first and youngest player to finish No. 1 in the 50 editions of the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Top seed will face Karatsev or Struff in his fourth ATP Masters 1000 final
Twenty consecutive ATP Tour wins on Spanish soil for the 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.

The top seed celebrated his birthday with another relentless performance in his homeland on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he overcame stiff resistance from Borna Coric to complete a 6-4, 6-3 semi-final victory at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000.

Alcaraz had to be at his best to overcome a resolute display from Coric. The extra variety in the Spaniard’s game proved key to his triumph, as he frequently pulled the energetic Coric around Manolo Santana Stadium and converted four of six break points to seal victory in one hour, 41 minutes.

“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid,” said Alcaraz. “It’s such a special place for me and I have great memories since I came here to play [as an] under-12. Of course last year was amazing.

“Turning 20 like that is special, so I will enjoy the final here and of course I will try to make all of Spain happy.”

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Having successfully defended his Barcelona crown two weeks ago, Alcaraz will bid for his fourth consecutive ATP Tour title in Spain on Sunday when he takes on Aslan Karatsev or Jan-Lennard Struff in the championship match. Should he defend the trophy at the Caja Magica, the Spaniard can return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings simply by playing a match at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia later this month.

“I enjoy playing here in Madrid. I always try to make [the fans] happy and myself happy as well,” said Alcaraz, when asked about the pressure of playing at home. “I don’t think about the pressure here, I just think about playing a great game, getting good results. It’s a really special place for me, I enjoy every second here, so that’s all I think about.”


While Coric’s speed around the court could have tempted Alcaraz to veer away from his trademark drop shot on Friday, the tactic still allowed Alcaraz to disrupt the baseline rhythm of Coric. That proved crucial for the top seed to break open a tight opening set by claiming its only break in the fifth game.

With both players offering few unforced errors, the match featured a series of long exchanges that tested the physicality of the players. Although he reclaimed an early break to level the second set at 2-2, Coric’s exertions appeared to catch up with him and he had no answer to the barrage of fierce forehands sent his way by the World No. 2.

Alcaraz secured two further breaks of the Croatian’s serve to close out his win and improve to 28-2 for the season. He finished with 30 winners to Coric’s 22 and was particularly effective on second-serve returns. The Spaniard won 58 per cent (14/24) of points against his opponent’s second delivery.

“It was a goal for me at the beginning of the match, trying to start the point playing aggressive,” said Alcaraz. “This is something I look for in every match, trying to attack on the return and of course trying to play with my forehand. I feel really comfortable playing with that. I think I hurt the opponent especially with the forehand and of course the drop shot, so this is a key and I’m trying to do it in every match.”

Having already lifted titles in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells and Barcelona this season, Alcaraz can jump above Daniil Medvedev to first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin by claiming his fourth ATP Tour crown of 2023 in Madrid.