TENNIS
Alcaraz, confident ahead of Wimbledon, but admits Djokovic is the favorite
The Spaniard won the Queen’s Championship after defeating Alex De Miñaur in the final and feels ready to compete at Wimbledon.
Carlos Alcaraz wasn’t able to win the French Open this year, but he was close enough. After losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals due to some cramps that affected his performance, he seems ready to deliver his best level in the third major of the season.
Although he was against the ropes in the first round of Queen’s, he quickly adapted to the new conditions, something that wasn’t expected to be easy for him, as he hasn’t played many games on grass since he turned professional.
Now, Alcaraz, who has won his 11th ATP title and is back at the top of the rankings again after winning the tournament, will be looking to implement his improvements in Wimbledon.
But before that, Carlitos will feature in the Hurlingham Tournament, an exhibition event where there will be quite a few top players in action to be as fit as possible before the start of Wimbledon.
Alcaraz, happy to win on grass before Wimbledon
Grass is probably the toughest surface for Alcaraz, as the 20-year-old star hasn’t played many times on this kind of court so far.
However, he has won his first tournament on grass as a pro, something he admitted he will never forget:
“It felt great to lift this trophy and to win my first tournament on grass. It is an amazing run for me this week. I played at an amazing level at the end of the week but seeing my name on a trophy, means a lot, so I am going to keep that memory for the rest of my life, for sure”.
Before he started the grass season, the Murcia native expressed that the favorite to ultimately emerge victorious is Djokovic, and despite his confidence, he hasn’t changed his speech.
“I am coming now to play Wimbledon with a lot of confidence, that’s obvious, but I saw a statistic that Novak has won more matches at Wimbledon than any top-20 player”, he said.
“What can I say about that? Novak is the main favorite to win Wimbledon, that’s obvious, but I will try to play at this level to have chances to beat him or make the final at Wimbledon”, Alcaraz added.
Besides Alcaraz, players like Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, Nick Kyrgios, or Seb Korda will be looking to go win the title in the most prestigious tournament in the tennis tour.