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Carlos Alcaraz has done justice to the claims that he is indeed Rafael Nadal's heir apparent, reaching the final of the 2022 Miami Masters.
The 18-year-old is the youngest player to make the last four of both events of the Sunshine Double, having reached the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters last month.
Interestingly, he has outperformed his idol Rafael Nadal in this aspect. The 21-time Grand Slam champion was 19 years and nine months old when he achieved the feat, while Alcaraz is only 18 years and 10 months old.
In light of the Spaniard's recent success, fans have pondered over whether this is the best ever season by a teenager on the ATP tour?
Carlos Alcaraz has a 16-2 win/loss record for the season, but that pales in comparison to what Nadal managed as a teenager back in 2005.
The Mallorcan's year began in rather poor fashion as he lost in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open and was knocked out in the first round of the Auckland Open. Then ranked World No. 51, the Spaniard progressed to the fourth round of the Australian Open, before falling to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt.
The now-World No. 3's dominance really only began with the start of the clay season. After a quarter-final finish at the Argentina Open, where he was bested by Gaston Gaudio, the former World No. 1 won the title at the Brasil Open. Seeded sixth in the tournament, Rafael Nadal secured the second title of his career with a victory over compatriot Alberto Martin in the final.
Nadal went on to win the Mexican Open as well, becoming the youngest champion in the history of the tournament. Seeded eighth, the Spaniard raced to the title without dropping a set. He dwarfed third seed Guillermo Canas in the quarterfinals and compatriot Albert Montanes in the final.
The former World No. 1 missed the Indian Wells Masters but came close to winning his first Masters 1000 title in Miami. Unfortunately, Nadal ended up losing to top seed Roger Federer in a five-set marathon in the summit clash.
The Mallorcan returned to clay at the Valencia Open, where he succumbed to a straight-sets loss against Igor Andreev in the quarterfinals. It was the last time the 21-time Grand Slam champion lost on clay that year. After the defeat against Andreev, Rafael Nadal embarked on a dominant run that saw him win four titles on the trot.
The first came at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he defeated Gaston Gaudio (quarterfinals) and Guillermo Coria (final) en route to notching up his first Masters 1000 title.
After a title run at the Barcelona Open the following week, Rafael Nadal strolled to his first Rome Masters title. The fifth seed defeated compatriot David Ferrer in the semifinals and Coria once again in the final to bring up his fifth title of the year.
The two Masters 1000 titles back-to-back made the World No. 3 a dark horse for the French Open, in his first-ever appearance at the Grand Slam. The Spaniard lived up to the hype, scoring a remarkable upset over top seed Federer in the semifinals. He then bested Argentine Mariano Puerta in the final to lift his first ever Grand Slam.
By doing so, Rafael Nadal became the first debutant to triumph at the event since Mats Wilander in 1982. The Spaniard was also the youngest champion in the history of the French Open since Michael Chang in 1989.
Rafael Nadal went on to win two more Masters titles and finished the year as the World No. 2
The grass season was not as fruitful for Rafael Nadal as he exited the Halle Open in the first round and Wimbledon in the second round. The Swedish Open on clay, however, brought him his seventh title of the year. He defeated Tomas Berdych in the final.
Following another title on clay at the Stuttgart Open, Rafael Nadal won his third Masters 1000 crown of the year at the Canadian Masters. The Mallorcan dwarfed former World No. 1s Carlos Moya (first round) and Andre Agassi (final) en route to yet another triumph.
The Spaniard fell in the third round of the US Open, but returned to form at the China Open to wrap up his 10th title of the year.
The World No. 3's final appearance in 2005 was at his home tournament, the Madrid Masters. The 35-year-old disposed of Croatian Ivan Ljubicic in the final to lift his 11th title of the season. Interestingly, Ljubicic was the player who handed Nadal his first loss of the year at Doha.
Despite his exploits, Nadal did not win the ATP Player of the Year that season. The honor went to Roger Federer, who also won 11 titles, including two Grand Slams (Wimbledon and US Open).
However, the Mallorcan grabbed the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award, finishing the year as the World No. 2. He had climbed up an amazing 49 spots from the previous season.
Rafael Nadal's win/loss record for the year stood at 79-10, amounting to an excellent win percentage of 88.8%. It remains the 21-time Grand Slam champion's most fruitful season in terms of titles. The closest he has managed to come since then was in 2013, when he won 10 titles from 14 finals.
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