“The confidence grew up a lot” – After Queen’s Club breakthrough, Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon expectations are sky high

He enters Wimbledon as the world No 1 and top seed, at just 20 years old and with only 11 ATP-level grass court matches under his belt.

Such is the trajectory of skyrocketing Carlos Alcaraz. The Precocious Murcian just doesn’t need a lot of time to figure things out before he’s thriving and winning on the biggest stages that the sport has to offer.

Here at Wimbledon the 20-year-old will bid to become the third youngest Wimbledon men’s singles champion in history, after Boris Becker, who won the title at 17 years of age in 1985, and Bjorn Borg, who was 27 days beyond his 20th birthday when he took out Ile Nastase for his first of five consecutive titles in 1976.

A fresh look for @carlosalcaraz 😎#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/wnIQoS2xBo

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2023

At 20 years and 72 days Alcaraz old, still cuts a youthful figure as he takes his place at the podium on media day, a stylish bucket hat adorning his head. But his talk is devoid of childish whim. He’s a focused man when it comes to his tennis, and his aspirations are sky-high when it comes to these Championships.

Fresh off the Queen’s Club title – his first on grass – Alcaraz is ready for the next challenge and hungry to show that he’s grown.

Confidence brimming, but not the favourite

“I started Queen’s with no expectation to win Queen’s, and I won it,” he said. “For me, I feel great playing such a great level. The confidence grew up a lot.”

Despite limited experience on grass (9-2 lifetime, one title), Alcaraz believes he’s a true contender for the title at SW19.

“I’m coming here to Wimbledon with a lot of confidence, thinking that I’m able to do a good results here,” he said. “But obviously for me the main favorite is Djokovic. That’s obvious.

“But my expectations are high. I think I will be able to put the pressure on the other players, even Djokovic as well. But all I can say is I feel with a lot of confidence and I feel ready to do good things here.”

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Learning from the best

Just three weeks removed from a devastating semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic at Roland-Garros, Alcaraz has tried to be constructive about the way the pressure affected him in that high-stakes affair. After the loss he was open about the fact that the pressure got to him and played a major role in his cramping.

What is it about facing Djokovic that is so difficult?

“I would say the pressure that he puts on everyone,” he said. “You know, not only to me, to everyone. To play at their best for about three hours in a Grand Slam… I have to deal with that, but is something that I really want.”

Alcaraz stressed that he want to face the challenge again – as soon as possible.

“I hope to play a final here against him,” he said.

But he knows if that happens, he’ll be up against a true grass court juggernaut, and a player who is considered the all-time tennis GOAT by a growing faction of pundits after his latest exploits in Paris, where he became the first man to win 23 major singles titles.

Alcaraz says that Djokovic is virtually bullet proof on a tennis court.

“He does the things really, really easy,” Alcaraz said. “He moves really well. He hits the ball really well, really cleanly.

“It’s a mix of everything. I would say he doesn’t do anything wrong. He always make really easy everything. It’s really tough to find some weakness on his game.”

Aggression the key for Carlitos

If anyone has the weapons to ruffle the feathers of seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic, it is the power-packed Alcaraz.

Brimming with confidence after his triumph at Queen’s Club, the Spaniard knows he just has to keep asserting himself to have success.

“I always say that I try to play aggressive all the time,” he said. “I think my style, it’s always to play aggressive. I think that’s the most important thing here on grass: to be aggressive, to try to go to the net, trying to hit big shots. I always trying in every surface.

“I think that suits really well on grass.”

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