Mumbai: Moments before stepping onto court in his attempt to scale an unconquered peak then, Carlos Alcaraz, with those large headphones strapped to his ears, was grooving along and goofing around with his team.
Minutes after the conquest had been completed, Alcaraz, unable to stop grinning from ear to ear, was singing along and spraying champagne around his team.
This is a kid at heart at 22. This is an all-court, all-season champion of tennis at 22. This is the youngest man ever to complete the career Grand Slam in history at 22. This, to quote the legend that he beat to get there, is already “legendary” at 22.
No one had defeated Novak Djokovic in a final of the Australian Open, until Alcaraz turned up to rewrite records with a rallying 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 victory on Sunday.
No one from the eight previous male players to have a career Grand Slam (winning all four Slams) in tennis history had done it at such a young age, until Alcaraz turned up to rewrite records at 22 years and 258 days.
No one in the Open era had gobbled up seven men’s singles major titles before turning 23, until Alcaraz turned up to rewrite records and add another feather in his youngest-to-do-so hat.
Rafael Nadal, his childhood idol, was used to doing such things decades ago. That the retired Spanish trendsetter was present at Rod Laver Arena to witness his compatriot do it at a much faster pace was symbolic.
“You’ve been seeing me (play) since I was 14-15,” Alcaraz said, looking at Nadal. “It’s been a long time.”
Not nearly long enough for him to make history.
Alcaraz has stitched the full Slam set across three surfaces in just his 20th main draw appearance. With two trophies each from Paris, London and New York in the basket, Melbourne, where he hadn’t gone past the quarter-finals, completes the fruits of his labour.
“Nobody knows how hard I’ve been working to get this trophy,” he said on court.
Nothing could stop him this time. Not an unexpected split with longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in the off-season. Not a cramp-hit, five-set, five-hour semi-final that tested every ounce of his physical strength. Not even an inspired Djokovic that had incisively taken down Jannik Sinner, the other part of the current duopoly that has stopped him from the 25th chapter of his own history, on Friday.
How much fuel each player still had in the tank after those sapping semis was going to be intriguing. And the one to come out firing away was the 38-year-old oldest Slam finalist.
Those flat ferocious forehands and smashing serves were singing the same tunes from two nights ago. Djokovic earned the break in the fourth game while tapping along with his younger challenger in a rally. Even as Alcaraz’s body language was flat, Djokovic waltzed through the first set winning 93% first serve points.
The Alcaraz smile, often an indicator of his on-court mindset, came out early in the second set. That was a sign, before a lucky net cord and a missed forehand and serve-and-volley attempt from Djokovic handed him the break.
Alcaraz changing things up to extend rallies and varying the ball speed meant he was willing to be patient as opposed to his flashy game style. The Serb resorting to drop shots and serve-and-volleys meant he was either out of steam or out of rhythm from the baseline.
There was, undoubtedly, a dip in Djokovic’s level and intensity. The service potency was down (from 93% first serve points won to 50%) and the unforced error count up (from 4 to 11) in the second set.
The 24-time Slam champion however wasn’t going to fizzle out. Not after he cracked a forehand winner in the third game of the third set. Not after he dug out a backhand at full stretch and followed it up by a round-the-net backhand that although found Alcaraz waiting, in a point of the final for the ages.
The Serb’s energy was rising again, but not his serving impact. In a double fault-littered fifth game, Alcaraz got the break. A 16-shot rally where the Spaniard showed impeccable defence, went drop for drop and found the space to place the winner, was Alcaraz flaunting his all-around game.
Djokovic was still fighting. He held a 12-minute second game of the fourth set saving six break points. He was also roaring at 4-4 when he opened up a break point only for Alcaraz to shut it quickly.
Soon enough, after Alcaraz won a 24-shot rally and Djokovic sent a forehand wide, the 22-year-old collapsed on a court where he hadn’t yet surged to glory. Now, he had glory, and history.
