How hot was Carlos Alcaraz today? For Annabelle Croft and Novak Djokovic, he was “incredibly hot” and blazing on Centre Court this Sunday. The Spaniard defended his title against Novak Djokovic in a fiery showdown, a rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon that had everyone on the edge of their seats. Alcaraz’s performance was nothing short of spectacular. “He was on fire,” gushed Croft, marveling at his precision and power. The young star’s agility and strategy left Djokovic struggling to keep up. But it wasn’t just his athletic prowess that had the tennis world buzzing. Alcaraz has continued to earn praise for his incredible humility.

Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. But despite not giving any chance to the seven-time title winner on this surface Novak Djokovic, his respect for him did not seem to lower even an inch. Soon after the match, he admitted that he had been nervous before the encounter. Demonstrating his humility further, Alcaraz claimed that despite winning 4 Grand Slams, of which three have come in just a year, he does not consider himself a player of equal stature to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

When an ESPN correspondent reiterated the statements and questioned the reason behind the same in a later interview, Alcaraz revealed that he is still in the building phase. “I consider champions the big guys who’ve won 15, 14, 20 grand slams. Those guys who are eating at the big table.” Interestingly, the Big Three of tennis have all garnered at least 20 Grand Slams. While Roger Federer has exactly 20 of them to his name, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have 22 and 24 respectively. Continuing further, he expressed his desire to equate the big records. 

“I want to be there one day,” he continued. Talking further, he highlighted the achievements he has are just stepping stones towards great success. “4 Grand Slams, 2 Wimbledon’s. It’s a great achievement. I’m not gonna lie. I have to realize the things that I’m doing. But I want to keep going and keep building a good journey.” Emphasizing further the achievements of the tennis great, he reiterated, “Hopefully one day I can sit close to these champions.” However, Alcaraz is already on a legendary run.

After winning the Wimbledon final, the 21-year-old became only the second player to win the first four finals of Grand Slams he has participated in. Since the beginning of the Open Era, this record was only in the name of Roger Federer. Meanwhile, this was not the first time when Alcaraz expressed his high regard for the tennis legends. 

During the on-court interview, Alcaraz lauded Djokovic’s quick recovery and expressed his delight in beating him in the finals yet again. “Well I still believe Novak is Superman. What he’s done in this tournament with a surgery just a few weeks before the tournament began is amazing…I beat him today. But for me, Novak is still Superman,” he said. While Alcaraz has refused to be compared with the Big Three, he has definitely outshined their collective records.

Carlos Alcaraz is riding on the path to success faster than Federer, Djokovic, Nadal

The Wimbledon win marked the fourth Grand Slam for Carlos Alcaraz in his young career. But the Spanish star is etching his name on several other records, which even Roger Federer, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic could not attain at his age.

Alcaraz has become the youngest among the four to win his first four grand slam titles at 21 years of age. Roger Federer took two years more than him as he accomplished the task when he was 23. For Rafael Nadal, it took 2 defeats in the finals, and had to wait till he was 22, to win 4 Grand Slam titles. Similarly, Djokovic could achieve this after he turned 24.

The young Spaniard is also the youngest player to win three majors on three different surfaces, which he achieved after winning Roland Garros just a month ago.

As the season progresses, Alcaraz is expected to bring out more surprises and demonstrate exceptional skills further. It will be interesting to see how soon the Spaniard can reach that Big Table of Glory.