The one thing that Novak openly acknowledged in the concession speech was the surprise that it was on GRASS that Alcazar bested him first on a slam. He mentioned that HC and clay, yes he could see that, but I'm sure he thought he would still have the edge on the green stuff. Precisely because the grass is such a tricky surface he was taken back by Carlos learning curve and staying power in this match, expected Carlos to wilt down the stretch , as have so many other pretenders the last few years (Berretini, Sinner, Kevin Anderson, etc).
The next 2 slams (both HC) are going to be interesting, because you have Alcaraz, Novak and Medvedev as legit contenders who have all won the USO. I don't see the age 22-27 brigade, Ruud, the Crown Princes, Rublev, Fritz, Tiafoe, etc as ready to take a slam and their window is IMO rapidly closing.
Sinner or Rune could blossom suddenly, but they are at this point more wild cards.
Barring injury, there is no reason to think that Alcaraz won't continue to improve on HC, grass and clay. Even though older, ditto on Medvedev, though I think Daniil has maybe 2-3 years tops as a major contender. Novak is going to have now two serious challengers for the rest of his playing career. I hope three if Nadal comes back healthy.
