WHEN Carlos Alcaraz fell to the ground in disbelief after winning one of the great Wimbledon finals, his celebrations did not only cement his place in tennis history.
The Spanish sensation — who last year became the men’s game’s youngest ever No1 at 19 years and four months after winning the first of his two grand slams, at the US Open — could also be bound for billionaire riches.
Carlos Alcaraz becomes the youngest men’s Wimbledon champion since Boris Becker in 1985
Before Wimbledon he was said to be worth £7million thanks to deals including one with Calvin Klein
Carlos fell to the ground in disbelief after winning one of the great Wimbledon finals
His beaming smile, easy charm and humble roots make him a marketing dream — already winning comparisons to the likes of Three Lions legend David Beckham whose fame transcended his sport.
Andrew Castle, a former British No1 turned BBC pundit, reckons the “sky is the limit” for the now 20-year-old after Carlos won the Wimbledon final against 36-year-old defending champ Novak Djokovic — the Serbian superstar widely rated the greatest ever with a record 23 grand slam single titles.
The ascent of Alcaraz, with his 130mph serve, cannonball ground-strokes and deft drop shots, is being hailed as a changing-of-the-guard moment.
Castle, 59, told SE: “You can’t go toe-to-toe with Djokovic unless you are the real deal, and it was a big moment.
“The tennis world is excited by Carlos but he has the possibility of going beyond tennis because there is something incredibly likeable about him.
“He is a wholesome kid, a really good bloke and just a bouncing bundle of energy — and his tennis is exciting.
Kebab shop
“He doesn’t come from a privileged background.
“He has the possibility of being bigger than the sport, people adore him.
“Carlos is on course to be one of the highest-earning sportsmen in history.
“At the age of 20, with everything he has done now, why wouldn’t he make a billion dollars?”
Castle met Alcaraz for the first time at the Wimbledon’s Champions’ Dinner on Sunday night, where the champ turned out in a tuxedo.
And having seen Djokovic — as well as now-retired Swiss great Roger Federer, 41, and injured Spaniard Rafael Nadal, 37, each amass mega-millions — he believes Carlos can put an even bigger smile on his bank manager’s face.
Clean-cut Federer’s 20 slams — including eight Wimbledons to Djokovic’s seven — helped him bank an estimated £442million before hanging up his monogrammed RF white match-day jacket.
But Castle said of the new king: “When Carlos walks in a room, people know he’s there.
“I’ve seen it and it’s exciting.
“Up on stage at the Champions’ Dinner he delighted everybody.
“He was very respectful to me as an interviewer.
“He remembers people’s names, he can work a room and make everyone feel great.”
Before Wimbledon, he was said to be worth £7million thanks to deals with Rolex, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, BMW and racket maker Babolat.
But that will be eclipsed by the £30million he is predicted to make in fresh deals this year.
The Wimbledon Nike bucket hat he often sported during interviews at the tournament soon flew off shelves.
No wonder Carlos — who is said to be dating Spanish beauty and tennis enthusiast Maria Gonzalez Gimenez — is now compared to Becks, 48.
”Goldenballs” won countless football honours but became as famous for his marriage to Spice Girls star Victoria as for his day job.
Yet once he finishes celebrating his latest feat, Alcaraz will return to his parents’ £170,000 flat above a kebab shop in El Palmar.
Touchingly, he said in a previous interview: “Until very recently I didn’t consider myself a famous person, and I get nervous about practically every famous person I meet.”
‘Happiest moment of my life’
Carlos’s Wimbledon triumph was watched by King of Spain Felipe VI, the Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and celebs including movie royalty Brad Pitt, Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig.
Climbing the stairs to his player’s box in his moment of victory, he was met by family including parents Carlos Snr and Virginia, big brother Alvaro, younger brother Jaime — as well as coach and ex-No1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, agent Alberto Molina and physio Juanjo Moreno.
The tears that flowed reflected his journey since his talent was first spotted in the village of El Palmar in Murcia, Spain.
He described his win, in front of an estimated 60million TV viewers in the UK and US alone, as the “happiest moment of my life” — and rightly so after becoming the youngest men’s Wimbledon champion since 17-year-old German Boris Becker in 1985.
But while he won £2.3million in Wimbledon prize money — and sported a £50,000 Rolex watch as he lifted the golden trophy aloft — he knows his career was almost over before it began.
A key moment came when his parents were unable to afford to fly their little “Carlitos”, as they still call him, to a world championship under-10s competition in Croatia.
‘He delighted evrybody’
They were also paying to raise his brothers, Alvaro, Jaime and Sergio.
But Murcia confectionery company Postres Reina stumped up 2,000 euros for the trip — as Carlos made the final — then continued sponsoring him.
One of Carlos’s early coaches, Kiko Navarro, recently said of that trip: “It ended up expensive but it was a nice foundation.”
Navarro had spotted Carlos’ talent early.
He said: “This kid, at four, five years old was spectacular.”
But belying the ace’s now joyous disposition on court, Navarro added: “Carlos had a big temper.
“He did not like to lose.
“When we were travelling the world and he lost a match, you had to leave him for a while as he would cry.
“He was a bad loser.”
Carlos himself admits: “When I was younger, I was a totally different person.
“Probably I didn’t enjoy it as I’m enjoying right now.
“I was always mad, throwing the racket, complaining.”
But he added: “I started to calm myself, control my emotions. I started to enjoy.”
Since turning pro in 2018, he has taken the sport by storm with his swashbuckling shot-making and breathtaking fleet of foot on court.
A day after his 19th birthday at the Madrid Open, he became the first teen to ever defeat king of clay Nadal on his favourite surface, in the quarter-finals.
The next day, he dispatched Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Then, last September, he topped the rankings for the first time after winning the US Open.
Doubts were raised when he lost to Djokovic in four sets at this year’s French Open, after suffering cramp.
But he bounced back with a stellar grass-court season, despite being a relative novice on the surface — with victory at warm-up event Queen’s followed by the big one.
Champ Carlos is greeted by his friends and entourage in the player’s box
Child prodigy Carlos swings his racket
Carlos with his idol Rafael Nadal in 2016
Carlos is said to be dating Maria Gonzalez Gimenez
Spanish beauty Maria is a tennis enthusiast
Once Carlos finishes celebrating his latest feat, he will return to his parents’ £170,000 flat above a kebab shop in El Palmar
Andrew Castle said: ‘You can’t go toe-to-toe with Djokovic unless you are the real deal, and it was a big moment’
