By Emre Asikci
ISTANBUL (AA) - Spanish tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz completed his swift rise to the summit of men's tennis, winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
The 19-year-old took the number one ranking with a 6-4 2-6 7-6 (1) 6-3 win over Casper Ruud of Norway in Sunday's final at New York City's Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The victory made Alcaraz the youngest ever Grand Slam champion in men's tennis since his countryman Rafael Nadal made it shy of his 19th birthday at the 2005 French Open.
The 36-year-old Nadal heaped praise on Alcaraz's win against Ruud.
"Congratulations @carlosalcaraz for your first Grand Slam and for the number 1 which is the culmination of your first great season that I am sure will be many more," he said on Twitter.
- Teenager writes his name in gold letters in history books of tennis
Alcaraz also became the youngest US Open winner at 19 years, four months and six days since American player Pete Sampras (1988-2002) in 1990 and has replaced Daniil Medvedev as the men's singles No. 1, becoming the first teenager to climb to the summit in the 49-year history of the ATP rankings.
"It's crazy for me. I've never thought that I was going to achieve something like that at 19 years old. So everything came so fast," Alcaraz said on the court after the game.
"For me, it's unbelievable. It's something I dreamed since I was a kid, since I started playing tennis. Of course, lifting this trophy today is amazing for me," he added.
Alcaraz won the championship trophy and a $2.6 million payout from a record $60 million prize pool.
Ruud has become the second seed as he returned home with $1.3 million.
Throughout the US Open, he respectively took down Sebastian Baez, Federico Coria, Jenson Brooksby, Marin Cilic, Jannik Sinner and Frances Tiafoe on his way to winning his maiden Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz's win against Sinner in the quarterfinals was the second-longest clash in the history of the tournament after Stefan Edberg's five-hour, 26-minute semifinal victory against Michael Chang 30 years ago.
The Spanish teenager is now the fourth man from Spain to advance to the No. 1 position on the world ranking list, joining his compatriots Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal.