US Open 2022: Carlos Alcaraz triumph previews the next chapter of men's tennis

Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer eventually loosen their stranglehold on the Grand Slams, pundits may view Carlos Alcaraz's US Open victory on Sunday as heralding the changing of the guard in men's tennis. Having earned his reputation as one of the fiercest competitors among a hungry group of young challengers to the 'Big Three', Alcaraz's win over Casper Ruud not only brought the 19-year-old Spaniard a first major title but also saw him become the youngest world number one in ATP history.

His two-week journey in New York saw him collide with a host of other rising stars, offering the promise of exciting rivalries for fans to enjoy for many years to come. He battled 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner in a thrilling five-set quarter-final that did not finish until nearly 3 a.m.

before surviving another five-setter against 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe, who became the first Black American man to make the semis of the tournament since Arthur Ashe in 1972. On Sunday "Carlitos" avoided another punishing five-set match but still had to be at his athletic best to score a 6-4 2-6 7-6(1) 6-3 victory over 23-year-old Norwegian Ruud, who rises to number two in the world behind Alcaraz.

The Spaniard's coach, former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, said there is no shortage of talent on the men's Tour but he came away from Alcaraz's quarter-final match against Sinner thinking the pair could dominate for the next decade. "The other day I said that maybe Sinner and Carlos could dominate the Tour for maybe the next 10 years, from what I saw, the level that I saw the other day," he said.