Carlos Alcaraz and his Grand Slam record in 2024 | ATP Tour

US Open

Alcaraz and his Grand Slam record in 2024

The Spaniard won Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year

August 31, 2024

On Friday night, Carlos Alcaraz was on his way to John F. Kennedy International Airport to return to Murcia after losing in the second round of the US Open against Botic van de Zandschulp, who beat the Spaniard in three sets, thus achieving one of the biggest surprises of the current season.

Alcaraz, who posted a photo on social media this morning saying goodbye to the tournament’s fans and inviting them to meet again next year, closed his participation in the Grand Slam tournaments in 2024 on Thursday with a balance sheet that he would surely have signed before the start of the season.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: QUARTER-FINALS

Alcaraz arrived in Melbourne to play his first tournament of the calendar in the first Grand Slam of the year. He beat Richard Gasquet (first round), Lorenzo Sonego (second), Juncheng Shang (third) and Miomi Kecmanovic (round of 16) before meeting Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. In that round, the German dismissed the Spaniard in four sets, stopping his chances of winning the title.

“I honestly don’t know what happened,” Alcaraz said afterwards. “I would love to say what could have happened, but I didn’t feel good at the beginning of the match, with a lot of errors that I hadn’t been making at the beginning of previous matches, with a very bad level of serve as well…” he added. “These kinds of things can’t happen to me: I can play well, I can play worse, but not having 0 feeling in my shots, this can’t happen and it’s something we have to improve.”

ROLAND GARROS: CHAMPION

Until the quarter-finals, Alcaraz had a relatively easy tournament in Paris, beating JJ Wolf in the first round, Jesper de Jong in the second, Sebastian Korda in the third, Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round of 16 and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals. However, the semi-finals (Jannik Sinner) and the final (Zverev) were two close matches that were decided in the fifth set, and in which Alcaraz was just one set away from being eliminated (in both), as Sinner and Zverev led 2-1 before the Murcian’s comeback.

“We continue to live it with great excitement,” Alcaraz confessed. “I watch videos from when I was little, here in Paris, under the Eiffel Tower, watching Roland Garros. And years later, lifting the Mousquetaires Cup… they are beautiful moments and I live it with special excitement.”

WIMBLEDON: CHAMPION

Weeks after being crowned champion at Roland Garros, Alcaraz landed at Wimbledon as the defending champion (he won the final against Novak Djokovic in 2023).

After two easy first rounds, in which he saw off Mark Lajal and Aleksandar Vukic, the Spaniard overcame a five-set battle with Frances Tiafoe, who was just one set away from victory. Against Uno Humbert, Tommy Paul and Daniil Medevedev, the world No. 3 needed four sets to advance, before meeting Djokovic in the final and defending his crown with a straight-set victory.

“It’s a matter of fighting and believing, I’m very happy to be at the same table as Djokovic,” said the Murcia native. “But I don’t consider myself a champion at his level yet.”

US OPEN: SECOND ROUND

Without a doubt, one of the big surprises of 2024. After beating Li Tu in the first round, dropping a set along the way, Alcaraz was surprised by an incredible Van de Zandschulp, who played an exceptional match to send the 21-year-old, champion of the US Open in 2022, home.

“Right now I feel like I’ve taken steps backwards mentally and I don’t understand why,” said Alcaraz. “I had just had a spectacular summer at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. I came out of those tournaments saying that I had taken a step forward mentally. I had realised that to win big things, to win Grand Slam titles, you have to be mentally tough,” added the Spaniard. “And I come to this tour and I’ve taken steps backwards, like I’m not mentally well, I’m not strong. When faced with problems, I don’t know how to control myself and I don’t know how to manage them.”

In 2025, very soon, four new opportunities to shine on the big stages for Alcaraz.