In only his fourth senior tennis tournament of any kind, Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz has stunned the field the Murcia Open.
Alcaraz, who will turn 16 next month, received a wild card into this weeks Challenger tournament which is headlined by Portugal’s Joao Sousa. After winning his opening match against French world No.267 Gleb Sakharov, he scored an even more significant victory on Wednesday. Taking on fifth seed Pedro Martínez, the teenager battled to a shock 6-3, 7-6(4), win. Rallying back from a 2-5 deficit in the second set.
https://twitter.com/ATPTour_ES/status/1116050458429329414
Alcaraz’s win over Martinez, who is currently ranked 140th, has also set a new milestone on the ATP Tour. He has become the first Spanish player to defeat somebody in the top 200 at the age of 15 since Rafael Nadal back in 2002. Last week in Alicante Alcaraz also became the first player born in 2003 to win a Challenger match when he defeated Jannik Sinner. Another rising star from Italy.
High profile wins by young players
| player | Rival | Age | Tournament |
| Bernard Tomic | No. 147 Jimmy Wang | 15 years, 2 months, 24 days | Abierto de Australia 2008 Q |
| Richard Gasquet | No. 54 Franco Squillari | 15 years, 9 months, 27 days | Monte carlo 2002 |
| Rafael Nadal | No. 81 Ramón Delgado | 15 years, 10 months, 26 days | Mallorca 2002 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | No. 140 Pedro Martínez | 15 years 11 months, 5 days | Murcia 2019 |
| Ryan Harrison | No. 95 Pablo Cuevas | 15 years, 11 months, 7 days | Houston 2008 |
Source – ATP World Tour
In recent months, Alcaraz has been under the watchful eye of Juan Carlos Ferrero. A former world No.1 who won the 2003 French Open. In a column written for Tennis Head magazine, Ferrero hailed the teenager as ‘one of the best in the world’ for his age.
“I like his game a lot, especially his spirit & philosophy. I believe he will do really well in the future.” Ferrero wrote.
On the junior tour Alcaraz currently has a ranking of 25th in the world. Last month he won his biggest title yet at the Trofeo Juan Carlos Ferrero. A Grade 1 event in his home country. in 2018 he helped guide his country to victory in the junior Davis Cup. Overall, he has achieved a 10-3 win-loss record on the junior tour in singles.
In Murcia, the youngster will play ninth seed Rudolf Molleker in his third round match.
