Carlos Alcaraz: Five three-time Grand Slam champions he leapfrogged with 4th major – and two stars he drew level with
Carlos Alcaraz furthered his legacy on Sunday with a fourth Grand Slam triumph at Wimbledon.
The Spaniard is only 21 years old but already has two Wimbledon titles, alongside his French Open triumph last month – and his maiden major victory at the 2022 US Open.
Victory at the All England Club has pushed him further up the record books, and ahead of greats of the game.
We look at the players he has moved ahead of in terms of Slam titles, and the company he now finds himself in.
Five players pushed down
Alcaraz was one of six male players to win three Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era coming into Wimbledon, though has now jumped ahead of five greats of the sport with his latest victory.
Two of those he moved clear of are currently still active: Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka.
Murray looks set to call time on his career at the Olympic Games, after an emotional farewell to his home crowd at Wimbledon this week.
The Brit was a two-time champion at the All England Club, winning in 2013 and 2016, though his first major victory came at the US Open in 2012.
Also in the twilight of his career is Wawrinka, the Swiss star stunning the tennis world with his three major triumphs.
Wawrinka sealed his first Slam at the 2014 Australian Open, before winning the French Open in 2015, and his final major at the US Open in 2016.
Outside of Murray and Wawrinka, the most recent ATP player to have won three Grand Slam titles is former world No 1 Gustavo Kuerten.
All of the Brazilian’s major triumphs came at the French Open, with ‘Guga’ a Roland Garros champion in 1997, 2000, and 2001.
You have to go to the 1960s and 1970s for the final two men to sit on three Grand Slam singles victories.
The first is Jan Kodes, the man who helped spearhead the rise of Czech tennis over the past few decades.
Kodes won back-to-back Roland Garros crowns in 1970 and 1971, before a surprise Wimbledon win in 1973.
The final man in three Slams is the iconic Arthur Ashe, a true pioneer and one of the most influential players in history.
American great Ashe won the first Open Era US Open in 1968 and backed that up with an Australian Open victory in 1970, before a memorable win at the All England Club in 1975.
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Who is he now level with?
Being a four-time major winner is uncommon in the Open Era, with the 21-year-old now just one of three players to sit on that total of majors.
And you have to go back three decades to reach the first of those, in the former of respected pundit and former world No 1 Jim Courier.
The American star was a huge force in the game in the early 1990s, winning back-to-back French Open titles in 1991 and 1992, and Australian Open victories in 1992 and 1993.
Also on four Slam titles is Guillermo Vilas, one of the stars of the early ATP era in the 1970s.
Argentine Vilas won French Open and US Open titles in 1977, before consecutive victories Down Under in 1978 and 1979.
Drawing level with two Hall of Famers is no mean feat, but you imagine that Alcaraz will likely move ahead of Courier and Vilas soon.
Next in his sights
Quite incredibly, no male player in the Open Era sits on five Grand Slam titles – meaning the world No 3 will hold that spot outright if and when he claims his next major triumph.
In terms of the professional game, the next two players he can move ahead of are Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, who both won six majors across the 1980s and 1990s.
Up ahead of them is John McEnroe and Mats Wilander, on seven Grand Slam singles titles.
