Many people were stunned with the kind of year Carlos Alcaraz was able to produce and so was his compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Carlos Alcaraz started the 2022 campaign with a solid Australian Open effort but nobody was aware what kind of madness will. He quickly established himself as a great player on the clay in South America snatching up an ATP 500 trophy. He would add his maiden ATP 100 trophy not long after that in Miami and another ATP 500 trophy in Barcelona.
He would then go on to win his second ATP 1000 trophy in Madrid. After that, it was a decline before ramping up his game for the US Open which he ended up winning. He became world number one in the process and Davidovich Fokina did not see it coming:
“The whole world was surprised by what he did because it was something stratospheric. He won a 'Grand Slam,' he was number one, (and) he has won many tournaments. For many, it is a way forward.”
He also touched upon himself dimissing the mantle Next Gen as he's 24 years old:
“I already passed that stage. I was at the 'Next Gen' in Milan for a year, I should have gone again, but it wasn't done due to Covid. I'm somewhere in between because I'm almost 24 years old. And those who are 'Next Gen' are stepping on it very hard. I had no idea that so many young players would be so high up.”