Alcaraz a man for all surfaces as he eclipses Nadal's grand feat

THERE has long been an inevitability to Carlos Alcaraz winning the French Open, earmarked in his teen years as Rafael Nadal's heir apparent.

- Matt Majendie

In what was his fourth time in the main draw, the 21-year-old finally lived up to that expectation and eclipsed Nadal in the process as the youngest player to have won grand slams on three different surfaces.

Nadal was 22 when he pulled off the feat, which has been achieved by only seven men in the history of tennis.

Having previously won the US Open and Wimbledon, for Alcaraz grand slam No3 was arguably the most important, an event he used to run back from school to watch on television, revelling in the Spanish successes, notably those of Nadal.

It seems a lifetime ago that Nadal bowed out of this tournament in the opening round to Alexander Zverev, who pushed Alcaraz for five tight sets come the final.