With every new day in the tennis world, the rise of Carlos Alcaraz becomes even more inevitable. He is the youngest player in the top 100, the youngest to win 30 matches in a season since Rafael Nadal many moons ago, and during last year’s breakout season he became the youngest US Open quarter-finalist in the Open era, winning a title and earning his first grand slam seeding for good measure.
But on Friday evening, after four long and exhausting hours of play, Matteo Berrettini, the seventh seed, played the role of a seasoned veteran as he drew on every inch of his growing wealth of experience to delay the Spaniard for at least one more tournament.
