‘Carlos Alcaraz did something very few players have been able to do in 2024’
Carlos Alcaraz’s historic Channel Slam was “something special” and makes him the best ATP Tour player of the year, believes Laura Robson.
Alcaraz won four titles in 2024, with victories at Roland Garros and Wimbledon sitting alongside his successes at Indian Wells and the China Open.
The Spaniard defeated Alexander Zverev in a five-set final to seal his first French Open triumph in June, before beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets to successfully defend his SW19 title a month later.
He became just the sixth man in the Open Era to complete the Calendar Slam, and the first since Djokovic in 2021.
That was followed by a run to an Olympic silver medal in Paris 2024, where the 21-year-old was beaten in the gold medal match by Djokovic.
Alcaraz also found success over chief rival Jannik Sinner in 2024, winning all three of their tour-level contests to move 6-4 up in their head-to-head.
However, the Italian matched Alcaraz with two Grand Slam triumphs – at the Australian and US Opens – and had a more solid year overall.
Sinner went 73-6 in 2024, winning eight tour titles and guiding Italy to a successful Davis Cup title defence.
Many have named the 23-year-old as their best ATP Tour player of 2024, with world No 1 Sinner finishing close to 5,000 points ahead of world No 3 Alcaraz in the rankings.
However, speaking on Sky Sports, former WTA star Robson offered a different perspective.
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“Well, I’ve gone for Alcaraz,” she said.
“I mean, you win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back, and so few people have done that. You’re changing surfaces. It’s such a short amount of time between tournaments.
“And then straight after that, he gets the Olympics and was very nearly coming home with a gold medal as well.
“So just the three months basically that he put together was something special, and something that very few tennis players have been able to do.”
After a historic 2024, Alcaraz will now look to make further history in 2025.
With two Wimbledon titles, a French Open title, and a US Open title to his name, the 21-year-old could become just the sixth man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam in singles should he win the Australian Open.
Alcaraz would become the youngest man to ever achieve the feat should he triumph, breaking Rafael Nadal’s record of 24 years and three months at the 2010 US Open.
Alcaraz is not expected to play before Melbourne and will be the third seed Down Under, behind Sinner and world No 2 Zverev.
ATP Players to complete ‘Channel Slam’ (Open Era)
Rod Laver – 1969
Bjorn Borg – 1978-80
Rafael Nadal – 2008, 2010
Roger Federer – 2009
Novak Djokovic – 2021
Carlos Alcaraz – 2024
