Carlos Alcaraz's thrilling 2024 China Open final against Jannik Sinner will live long in the memory. It led to the Spaniard achieving something that no other player in ATP history has managed.
Question marks surrounded Alcaraz after his second-round loss at the US Open to Botic van de Zandschulp. He looked burnt out, and many felt the 21-year-old's season would peter out after a long year.
However, he found form again during the Davis Cup and then at the Laver Cup. Alcaraz's victory against Taylor Fritz in his final singles match sealed Team Europe's first title in three years.
Alcaraz and Sinner set up their blockbuster final after each man stormed to that stage in impressive style. Sinner did so despite the stress lingering in the background from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealing his case.
The pair's Beijing final was incredible to watch from start to finish. Sinner came back from deficits on multiple occasions to take the first set on a tiebreak, and it seemed like a long way back for Alcaraz from there.
But the Spaniard is a four-time Grand Slam champion for a reason. He sealed the China Open title and his third successive victory against Sinner after a 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 triumph in Beijing.
Alcaraz will become the new world No. 2 after his heroics at the China Open when the new rankings are released next week. Sinner is still 4,000 points ahead of Alcaraz at No. 1, though, due to his consistency this year.
Although Alcaraz has a long way to go to match the most significant achievements of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, his run to the title in the Chinese capital meant he achieved something those three did not manage.
The two-time Wimbledon champion became the first ATP player in history to win an ATP 500 tournament on three different surfaces. That achievement perfectly encapsulates his adaptability despite his age of just 21.
Alcaraz has won clay court titles in Rio De Janeiro, on grass at the Queen's Club, and now on the hard courts of the China Open in Beijing. That tally will undoubtedly increase further in the coming years.
There is also a technical reason why Alcaraz is the only man with ATP 500 titles on three different surfaces. The grass court tournaments at the Queen's Club and in Halle were previously ATP 250 events.
Nadal won the title at the Queen's Club in 2008, but it was still an ATP 250 tournament at the time. The 22-time Grand Slam champion would have joined Alcaraz on that list if it had ATP 500 status in 2008.
Nonetheless, that technicality does not diminish Alcaraz's achievement. Becoming the first man to have ATP 500 trophies on three surfaces is incredible for someone so young and with so much time to improve.
Alcaraz, who has voiced his opposition to the length of the tennis calendar, does not get much time off before starting his Shanghai Masters campaign. He is one of the favorites to win the title in Shanghai, along with Sinner.
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