In a Historic Breakthrough, Carlos Alcaraz’s Father Reveals Four Defining Matches in His Son’s Career
In an exclusive and emotional interview with La Voz del Tenis, Carlos Alcaraz González, father and lifelong mentor to tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz, revealed four matches that not only shaped his son’s career, but defined his meteoric rise to tennis greatness. The elder Alcaraz, often a silent figure in the background, spoke candidly for the first time about the pivotal victories that propelled Carlos from a raw talent in Murcia to a Grand Slam champion and global icon.
1. The Challenger’s Fire – Alicante, 2019
“It was a small tournament,” González began, “a Challenger in Alicante. But to us, it was everything.” At just 16 years old, Carlos faced veteran Italian Stefano Travaglia in the semifinals. Travaglia, ranked over 200 places above the teenager, was heavily favored.
“I told him before the match, ‘No one here knows you, Carlitos. That’s your strength. Surprise them.’”
And surprise them he did. Carlos came from a set down, dazzling with impossible drop shots and an unrelenting forehand. It was the match that earned him his first major headlines, the first whispers of “Spain’s next Nadal.”
“After the win,” González recalls, “he sat on the court and smiled—not from pride, but from realization. He had just seen the future open in front of him.”
2. The Turning Point – Umag, 2021
By the time Carlos entered the Croatia Open in Umag, expectations had begun to grow. But doubts lingered—could he handle the pressure of an ATP final?
“His semifinal win was solid,” said his father. “But the final, against Richard Gasquet, that was something else. That was when I knew my son was no longer just a prodigy. He was a professional.”
Carlos dismantled the experienced Frenchman in straight sets, claiming his first ATP title. “It wasn’t just how he played—it was how he carried himself. Calm. Deadly. Almost cold,” González said. “After the trophy ceremony, he came up to me and said, ‘One down. Many more to go.’”
3. The Coming of Age – Madrid Open, 2022
If there was a match that sent shockwaves through the tennis world, it was Carlos’s victory over Novak Djokovic in the Madrid semifinals. But it was the quarterfinal against Rafael Nadal that struck the deepest chord in González.
“You have to understand,” he said, voice trembling slightly, “Rafa was his hero. We used to wake up at 3 in the morning to watch Nadal play in Australia.”
That match, a grueling three-set battle of athleticism and mental steel, saw Carlos not only outplay his idol but outlast him. “It was a rite of passage,” González said. “That was when he stepped out of Rafa’s shadow.”
4. The Crown – US Open Final, 2022
And then came the moment that etched Carlos Alcaraz’s name into tennis history: the 2022 US Open Final against Casper Ruud.
“It was the longest two weeks of my life,” González laughed. “He played every match like a war. I barely slept.”
Carlos won in four sets, capturing his first Grand Slam title and becoming the youngest world No. 1 in ATP history.
“When he raised that trophy,” González said, eyes misting over, “I saw him not as the boy who practiced serves at 6 AM in our backyard, but as a man who had taken the world by storm.”
Though Alcaraz has gone on to win more titles since, including additional Grand Slams, his father insists those four matches were the keystones. “Each one unlocked a new door. And behind each door, Carlos found more of himself.”
As the interview ended, Carlos Alcaraz González smiled softly. “These were only four matches. But they were the ones where I stopped being his coach, and started being his biggest fan.”
