Carlos Alcaraz has a few 'the youngest player' milestones, and he just added another by making the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open.
The 20-year-old has been a tremendous tennis player ever since he showed up on the ATP Tour, proving it quite quickly. He would improve dramatically in a short period, winning the US Open as a teenager and becoming world number one.
He then finished the year as number one, which again was the youngest ever. That's the best 'youngest player' milestone he has because he became world number one at a younger age than Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer.
He's actually the youngest number one ever on the ATP Tour. When it comes to this most recent milestone, he did something that somebody his age hasn't done since 1975 and a certain Bjorn Borg.
Anytime you're in the same sentence with the legendary Swede, you know you're doing something well. He reached the fourth round at the seventh consecutive Grand Slam he played, becoming the youngest player to do so since Bjorn Borg did it in 1975.
That's quite an achievement and speaks to his consistency, which is impressive for such a young player. Generally, young players like him tend to have the occasional slip-up early, but that hasn't happened to him.
In fact, the last time he lost before the fourth round was in Australia two years ago, in 2022. Since then, he made the quarter-final at the 2022 Roland Garros. He made the fourth round of Wimbledon that year and won the US Open.
He missed the 2023 Australian Open but made the Roland Garros semi-final, won Wimbledon, and made the US Open semi-final. The fourth round in Melbourne, which he reached by advancing past Jungcheng Shang, is the seventh consecutive Grand Slam event he made it at least to the second week.
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