Picture the scene: a practice court somewhere in Spain. A young player picks up his phone and taps the screen to open a recorded message.

A voice presents him with a daunting challenge. Three legends from the most decorated period of men’s tennis have retired; one more remains but no one knows for how much longer. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” the voice intones, “is to pick up where they left off. This message will self-destruct in five seconds…”

Our hero’s phone fizzes and sputters as the music begins: Dum-dum, dee-dee, dum-dum, dah-dah, dum-dum…

Luckily, it was Carlos Alcaraz who got that message but, even so, it was asking a lot. After 20 years of the ‘Golden Age’ with Messrs Federer, Nadal and Djokovic dominating the Grand Slam stages around the world, another generation would find themselves in the unenviable position of following in their footsteps. Go on then, Carlos – succeed some of the greatest players ever to pick up a racket. But how? Well, that’s why they call it Mission: Impossible.

Yet Alcaraz has made it all seem so very possible. As this year began, he had won four Grand Slam titles, he had been world No.1, he had won titles on every surface and he was an Olympic silver medallist. He was breaking records with every achievement in every year, able to summon a level of tennis comparable with anything we’ve seen before. And he was still only 21.

This summer (and now aged 22, but only by a couple of months), he is attempting to win his third consecutive title at Wimbledon. Only Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have done that in the men’s game during the Open era.

When he won his first Wimbledon trophy in 2023, he was playing only the fourth grass court tournament of his career. When he won last year, he was completing the ‘Channel Slam’, the nigh-on impossible task of winning on the clay of Roland-Garros and then following it up with victory at the All England Club a mere five weeks later.

Yet he makes it all seem so seamless; so joyful. He is the smiling champion – as he always says, when he smiles, he wins.

But how had he done it? He appeared on the world stage more or less fully formed. He won the 2022 US Open in only his second full season on the Tour and immediately took over at the top of the ATP rankings and, aged 19, was the youngest man ever to do so.

He was not like the greats who had gone before him; he had not modelled himself on any player in particular but, as Djokovic said after the 2023 final here, Alcaraz had it all. And more.

“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest,” Djokovic said after that epic encounter. “Roger and Rafa have their own obvious strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces.

“I think he’s got basically the best of all three worlds. He’s got this mental resilience and real maturity. He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defence that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years.

“And I think he’s got some nice sliding backhands; he’s got some similarities with my backhands. Defence; being able to adapt. I think that has been my personal strength for many years. He has it, too.”

Even away from the courts, he is a natural. Comfortable in his own skin – not a given for a young sports star thrust into the media spotlight – he is just Carlos. He does not brag and he does not make excuses; he is humble when he wins and honest when he loses.

Having a camera crew follow him around the globe last year for the Netflix docuseries Carlos Alcaraz: My Way added yet more stardust to his image. Released in April, this behind-the-scenes look at everything in his life should bring more fans into the sport. After all, it is very hard not to like Alcaraz, which can only bode well for tennis in the coming years.

He is still learning, though. Last summer was the first time he had successfully defended a Grand Slam title and, yes, it did feel different. His run through the draw was littered with dropped sets – Frances Tiafoe pushed him to five in the third round before he shed a set in his next three matches – but once he reached the final to face Djokovic again, he was calm, controlled and utterly (and sometimes fabulously and flamboyantly) ruthless. After a 14-minute opening game, he was in command.

And he was having the time of his life. Every winner (and there were barrowloads of them) was greeted with a huge, beaming smile towards his team. This was a Wimbledon final and, this time, he knew just what to expect. This was fun.

Djokovic found it less fun. “He was the better player from the beginning till the end,” he said. That was the match in a nutshell.

Will Alcaraz have it all and more again this year? Well, he’s not the only one rising to the challenge of following the greats. Jannik Sinner, the Italian with a game as powerful as it is metronomic, looks set to be Alcaraz’s biggest rival for the next decade or so, with the pair splitting last year’s Grand Slam titles 50/50. And if there’s one thing that the last generation showed us, it’s that great rivalries raise the bar for all concerned.

But to view Alcaraz’s exploits solely through the prism of the achievements that came before him would be doing a disservice to all that makes the Spaniard’s game so enjoyable. Whatever happens, he will be playing with a grin, pulling off scarcely believable shots and enjoying the challenge at hand.

“At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys,” he said. “That’s my dream right now. I don’t know what is my limit. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to keep enjoying my moment, just to keep dreaming. So let’s see if at the end of my career it’s going to be 25, 30, 15, four. I don’t know. Let’s see what the future brings to me.”

Cue music: Dum-dum, dee-dee, dum-dum, dah-dah... (And for those of you of a nervous disposition, fear not: this programme will not self-destruct in the next five seconds. Men’s tennis is in very safe hands for the foreseeable future.)