CARLOS ALCARAZ will mark his maiden Australian Open victory with a kangaroo tattoo – after a huge leap into the tennis record books.
The Spanish superstar’s 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 triumph in the Melbourne final over Novak Djokovic saw him become the NINTH man in history to complete the Career Grand Slam.
The 22-year-old joins an elite club of Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Djokovic, Roy Emerson, Roger Federer, Rod Laver, Rafa Nadal and Fred Perry by winning all four major Championships.
To commemorate his Slam victories in London, Paris and New York, he has tattoos of a strawberry, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge.
And he has a special tatt on his mind following a successful Oz trip in only his fifth visit.
Alcaraz laughed: “I’ve said it’s going to be a little kangaroo, for sure.
ALCARAZMATAZZ
Alcaraz beats Djokovic in Oz Open final to become youngest Career Slam winner
BIG ONE
Weekend betting column: SunSport picks for a huge weekend of Premier League action
“I don’t know where it’s going to be. It’s going to be in the leg, for sure.
“I don’t know the right, the left one. So I’ve got to choose a good spot.
“But it’s going to be for sure close to the French Open or Wimbledon ones.”
Nobody before in men’s tennis has accomplished this much at such a young age.
All the talk about Djokovic this past fortnight, and especially following his thrilling late-night five-set win over Jannik Sinner, had been about claiming a historic 25th title.
Yet at this rate, who knows how many Alcaraz will collect when he eventually retires?
If he does get to 25, there might not be enough free space on his body for the inking.
In the post-final ceremony, with a pen not a racquet in his hand, Alcaraz signed a camera by saying: “Job finished, 4/4 complete.”
Alcaraz said: “It’s a great feeling. Completing a Career Grand Slam was something that was on my mind.
“Every time I came here to Australia, I made the preseason with my mind into this tournament, to try to work as hard as I can, and be as well-prepared as I can.
“In the previous years I haven’t gone in a good way, but I’m really happy that I pushed myself to be better and it finally came this year.
“This means the world to me. It’s a dream come true.”
Djokovic did not get to bed until after 5am on Saturday morning following that semi-final victory over Sinner, which had started on Friday evening.
Despite the lack of recovery time – and the fact he is 38 – the Serbian produced near-perfect tennis in set one, which he wrapped up in 33 minutes, barely producing an unenforced error.
In the closing points of that set, Alcaraz cried out to his team “impossible” as he struggled to stem the one-way traffic.
But Alcaraz – in his first big tournament since ditching Juan Carlos Ferrero as coach – says he felt “comfortable and calmer” in set two as Djokovic started making “a few easy mistakes” and his forehand broke down.
Even the luck of the ball went his way, as evident by one outrageous fluke that bounced off the net and landed as dead as a stone on Djokovic’s side of the court.
After leveling up at 1-1, with Djokovic off court for a bathroom break, the world No.1 furiously complained to the umpire and tournament director about why they had significantly closed the Rod Laver Arena roof but not fully shut it.
Once that moaning stopped, however, the level of tennis went up a notch in the third set and the athleticism on display from both men was off the charts.
The Murcia Magician managed to win the best point of the 15-day tournament when somehow, from the back of the court, he retrieved a shot from Djokovic that went around a post.
Djokovic saved 16 of 18 break points against Sinner but those remarkable defensive skills could not be consistently repeated in game nine of set four as Alcaraz moved 2-1 ahead.
Though a trainer and doctor were then called – he refused post-match to say what the physical problem was – he did not take a medical time-out.
Djokovic whipped up the crowd when he had break point in game nine of the fourth set but he could not convert his moment – and then Alcaraz completed the job.
It is nine Slams in a row where Djokovic has not been victorious – his longest barren spell since the end of the 2010 season.
Djokovic, who suffered his first defeat in 11 Aussie Open finals, said: “It’s always a pleasure to face him, because he definitely is one of the best players I’ve ever faced in my career.
“I lost to a No.1 in the world and already a legendary player.
“The results are a testament to his already stellar career. I can’t think of any other superlatives about him.
“He deserves every bit of the praise that he gets from his peers but also the whole tennis community.
“Everything is possible in his case, no question about it. If he were able to achieve already at such a young age seven slams and all the other accolades, he’s going to steer forward big-time.”
Read the full article here