When a 12-year-old Carlos Alcaraz named Roger Federer as his idol

It took Carlos Alcaraz three hours and 20 minutes to down Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 in the 2022 US Open final, and become the youngest Grand Slam champion since Rafael Nadal's 2005 French Open heroics. Soon after the historic match ended, a video appeared online in which a 12-year-old Alcaraz can be seen speaking Spanish.

When the person behind the camera asked Alcaraz who he idolized, he was quick to name Roger Federer. Ever since turning pro in 2018, the new World No. 1 has time and again praised the Swiss player and has hailed him as an inspiration.

Before the 2022 Wimbledon championships started in June, the 19-year-old mentioned that he watches other players' videos to get better on grass.

"I'm trying to see the trainings of the best players," Carlos Alcaraz said. "Dan Evans, I think he plays very well on grass. I'm trying to copy some things from the best ones. I always watch videos of Federer, Djokovic, Rafa, and Andy as well, trying to copy the moves and stuff from them."

With his win on Sunday at Flishing Meadows, Alcaraz became the youngest male player in the Open Era to reach the summit of the ATP rankings. At the age of 19 years and 129 days, Alcaraz toppled Lleyton Hewitt's record as the youngest World No. 1. The Aussie reached the top spot when he was 20 years and 266 days old.

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Carlos Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud for a third time on tour

Carlos Alcaraz (L) and Casper Ruud

In their third meeting so far, Carlos Alcaraz once again managed to come out on top as he beat Casper Ruud in four sets, improving his head-to-head record against the Norwegian to 3-0. The two players also met earlier this year in April, when the Spaniard beat him in straight sets in the Miami Open title clash and had earlier beaten Ruud on claycourts at the 2021 Andalucia Open in straight sets.

After Ruud leveled the proceedings by winning the second set of the 2022 US Open final on Sunday, he registered his first and only set win against the Spaniard till now.

While both players broke each other thrice over the course of four sets, it was the Spaniard's brilliance in the tiebreaker of the third set, where he won seven points on the trot after conceding the first one. Alcaraz saved seven break points in the match which included two set points on the Spaniard's serve in the third set.