Future is now: Carlos Alcaraz lives up to generational talent hype with US Open triumph

For years a narrative has provided an undercurrent on the ATP Tour over what a post-Big Three era will look like, when it might begin, and who will lead the charge.

It was always going to be gradual but when Carlos Alcaraz lifted the US Open trophy in historic circumstances on Sunday night, it felt like a seminal moment, providing a few answers to those long-pondered questions.

The Spaniard is not the first player of this new generation to loosen the collective stranglehold on men's tennis long and stubbornly held by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and until recently Roger Federer. But this is different to the Grand Slam-winning breakthroughs of Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev.

For starters, Alcaraz is not really of this generation. At just 19, he should belong to the next one but such is his outrageous talent there was no stopping his meteoric rise.

Alcaraz is the youngest Grand Slam champion since Nadal at the 2005 French Open and the youngest US Open winner since Pete Sampras in 1990, while he is the youngest male player to reach world No 1, beating previous record-holder Lleyton Hewitt by a year and five months.

Alcaraz's rise to the summit comes amid a season which already comprised four titles, including two Masters, prior to his New York triumph, having started the year ranked just outside the top 30 and competing in just his second full year on tour.

"This is something I dreamed of since I was a kid, to be No 1 in the world, to be the champion at a Grand Slam," Alcaraz said in an on-court interview.

"All the hard work that I did with my team, with my family. I'm just 19 years old so all of the tough decisions are with my parents and my team as well. This is something that is really, really special for me."

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