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Carlos Alcaraz has returned to the All England Club to defend his Wimbledon title. He will commence his title defence against Mark Lajal on Monday, July 1. He got the better of Novak Djokovic in a thrilling five-set final last year to capture his second Major title.
The Spaniard has since added another Grand Slam title to his trophy cabinet as he won the French Open last month. It wasn't an easy campaign by any means. He was plagued by an injury in the lead-up to the tournament.
Fortunately, Alcaraz recovered in time. He faced some tough competition en route to the title, and rallied from two sets to one down against Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. He did the same against Alexander Zverev in the final as well.
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His triumph at the French Open made him the youngest player to win a Grand Slam title on three different surfaces. He has already broken many records at his young age, and it doesn't look like he's going to stop any time soon.
Now, Alcaraz will be eyeing further glory by retaining his Wimbledon title. On that note, here's a look at the few milestones that he could achieve at the All England Club:
#3 - Carlos Alcaraz could become the sixth man to complete the "Channel Slam"
Winning back-to-back Majors is always a tall order, and it's even more difficult to do so on different surfaces. The quick change from clay to grass has always been challenging for players to deal with.
As such, not many players have managed to achieve the "Channel Slam", that is, winning the French Open and Wimbledon one after the other. It is referred to as such because of the English Channel which separates France from the United Kingdom.
Only five men have managed to achieve this rare feat in the Open Era, with Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic being those elite five.
Should Alcaraz triumph at Wimbledon once again, then he could find himself in some esteemed company. The young Spaniard overcame some difficult moments to win the French Open. If he retains the same focus, then he shouldn't have a problem in completing the rare "Channel Slam".
#2 - Surpass Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, and other players by winning his fourth Major title
Winning a couple of Major titles is a noteworthy achievement in itself. However, to rack up one Grand Slam title after another is a whole other ballgame. Alcaraz, with his current tally of three Major crowns, stands tied with five other men in the Open Era to have won that many titles.
Adding a fourth Major trophy to his resume would see him leapfrog the likes of Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, and Arthur Ashe, among others. Guillermo Vilas and Jim Courier are the only two men to have captured four Major titles in the Open Era, and the Spaniard could join those two.
Vilas and Courier achieved the feat over the course of three seasons, and Alcaraz seems poised to do the same should he defend his title at Wimbledon. However, a title defence at the All England Club isn't as easy as some other players have made it seem in the past.
#1 - Become the first player other than Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to successfully defend a Wimbledon title since 2000
Federer and Djokovic's dominance at Wimbledon saw them claim 15 titles between them since 2003. Those two are the only ones to have captured consecutive titles at the venue in the past two decades.
Federer won five in a row from 2003, until his streak was broken by Nadal in the epic 2008 final. Djokovic won four in a row starting from 2018, and Alcaraz himself broke his streak in the summit clash last year.
Pete Sampras was the last player other than Federer and Djokovic to defend his Wimbledon title, which he did so in 2000. It was the American's fourth straight triumph at the venue. While Nadal managed to reach consecutive finals at the venue, he couldn't win back-to-back titles.
Thus, Alcaraz has a tough task on his hands. However, should he mount a successful title defence, then it would further cement his status as the best player of his generation.
