Carlos Alcaraz reaches first grand slam semifinal after marathon, late-night finish against Jannik Sinner
By Chris Carter-Reed
March 22, 2018 — 12.21pm
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the best of friends, a fact reflected in their playing styles. A combination of their styles has them combining to win five of their last 10 grand slam semi-final matches.
This is not the first time Alcaraz has found himself on the verge of a grand slam final. He went to the quarter-finals twice during his career – once as a qualifier in the Australian Open and another appearance, this time as a qualifier in the French Open – and has done it both ways.
He reached the quarter-finals at the French Open as a qualifier in 2013 and 2016. He reached the fourth round as a qualifier in 2003 and 2014.
In the end, only two grand slams – the US Open and Wimbledon – went to more American (tennis) players than Alcaraz. This might be due to the fact he only made it to the quarter-finals at major tournaments when he first began competing, in 2004, going a little bit easier on himself when he got to the second round at the French Open the following year.
While he has had one of the longest streaks at the majors and as a qualifier, he hasn’t been through what most would term the toughest time in his career – the US Open. During his run of grand slam semi-finals and finals, he was in the top 100 at five Grand Slams along with the Masters.
This has made his career – and the career of his country – much more than just about tennis. There’s a much more than tennis to be proud of for Carlos, a man who has made many people proud in the process, from his late father (a former President of the Colombia Tennis Federation) to his late brother (who was a World number one in doubles), to the man who played with him on the Colombia side of the Davis Cup, to his mother, to his partner in crime, to his team-mate from the junior circuit, to the man who has never been to a grand slam final and, finally, the man who will be playing in one tomorrow.
The US Open, the oldest