What did Alcaraz and Rune say about each other ahead of their Wimbledon match?

Wimbledon is getting to its final stages, with some of the very best players looking to take steps forward toward the Wimbledon title.

Two of them are Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, who will play each other on Wednesday for a place in the semifinals of the third Grand Slam tournament of the year.

Alcaraz, who wants to lift the 12th ATP title of his career, defeated grass-court specialist Matteo Berretini, while Rune defeated an in-form Grigor Dimitrov in four sets.

Now, both young stars, who grew up playing some matches together, will battle it out to advance to the semifinals of the most prestigious and oldest tennis tournament.

Alcaraz remembers sharing great moments

After his match against Berrettini, Alcaraz was asked about his opponent on Wednesday, as they know each other since they were teenagers.

“I’m really excited about this match. We shared a lot of great moments. We played together since we were 12 years old. We’ve not texted each other, but obviously, we know really well each other”, he said.

Carlitos knows he will have one of the toughest opponents in front of him fighting for a place in the semifinals and admitted that Rune’s backhand is quite dangerous:

“If I have to take some weapon from him, I’m going to say the backhand. I’m not saying that my backhand is bad, no. I think he has a great backhand”.

Both players go into the courts with the determination and confidence of winning, and that’s something the attendants will likely witness when they face each other.

“He has a lot of passion; he loves the game. He’s a very competitive guy, as well. I could describe him like this”, Alcaraz added.

Rune says Alcaraz is ‘doing better’ than him

Meanwhile, the Danish star remembers his days competing as a junior alongside Alcaraz and said he will need to be cautious of his level, as he has improved a lot since then.

“He’s always been a very passionate player on the court, I would say, with a lot of energy,” he said. “A big forehand also in juniors”, Rune said.

Although Rune’s progression has been remarkable during the last year, he stated that Alcaraz has reached such a level faster than him and has been the better player of the two.

“I think he’s the same, just so much better now. I think back then he was Carlos, now he’s Carlos. He’s the same, just improved a lot and very quickly. I stay in the moment and I’m eager to improve. To be honest, it doesn’t feel like I’m going really fast. But also, you see Alcaraz, he’s doing even better than me”, he concluded.

While Alcaraz will be looking to lift the second major of his career, Rune wants to take advantage of this opportunity to shock the world and go all the way in Wimbledon.