Tennis Star Carlos Alcaraz Aims for History at Wimbledon
Carlos Alcaraz, a tennis player from Murcia, Spain, is hoping to make history at the upcoming Wimbledon tournament. Last year, he became the seventh tennis player to win consecutively on the grass at Queen’s and later at Wimbledon.
Aiming to Lifting the Roland Garros and Wimbledon Trophies
This time, Alcaraz hopes to become the sixth professional in the Open Era to lift the Roland Garros and Wimbledon trophies in the same year. "I want to put my name on that short list," he warned, emphasizing his determination to achieve this goal.
Preparation and Adjustment
Since winning the Musketeers Cup on June 9, Alcaraz has only rested for five days. Three of those days were spent on a mini-vacation in Ibiza, where he worked on his game on the grass. "The automatisms on the grass have nothing to do with tennis on clay or on a hard surface," he explained.
Adjusting to Grass
Alcaraz emphasized the importance of adjusting to the grass, saying, "I slide on land, but here I don’t dare. You have to play more crouched, not get up, not slip…" His trainer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, agrees, saying, "We try not to change our game. But the movement changes a lot because I slide on land and here I don’t dare."
Recent Training Session
As a last test before his debut with Mark Lajal, Alcaraz arranged a Sunday training session with Jack Draper, the Briton who ended his streak of 13 victories on grass.
The Rain
After 20 minutes of training, it started to rain, and the session was suspended. Alcaraz is well-prepared for the rain, having enjoyed playing on grass since he was a child.
First Experience on the Wimbledon Courts
Alcaraz has a special memory of his first experience on the Wimbledon courts, when he had the opportunity to play with Roger Federer himself before his quarterfinal match with Kei Nishikori.
Generational Change
Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have already won the first two majors of the season, confirming the generational change that Novak Djokovic is resisting. With Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal spacing out his presence, Djokovic is the only representative of the Big Three in contention and with a chance.
Djokovic Resists
Outside of his wins in 2023, Roland Garros, and US Open, Djokovic has not won since Nadal won the French Internationals in 2022. Djokovic appeared at the event last year with 34 wins on grass until Alcaraz ended that unbeaten record.
The Double Change of Surface
The double change of surface – from dirt to grass and back to brick dust for the Paris Games – has caused many casualties among players who are not willing to adapt. Nadal has resigned from Wimbledon, and Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, or Ben Shelton will skip the Olympic event.