World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz played a thriller vs Novak Djokovic at the French Open semifinal last month and after contemplating that duel he shared some insights on the experience.
“The pressure. I would say the pressure that [Djokovic] put to everyone,” Alcaraz told the Wimbledon media at his press conference. “You know, not only to me, to everyone to play at their best about three hours in a Grand Slam. I’m talking about the Grand Slam. I have to deal with that, but is something that I really want it. I hope to play a final here against him. But for me, this probably is the toughest thing facing Novak.”
20 year old Carlos lost that match 63 57 61 61 to 36 year old Djokovic where it appeared he either ran out of gas and fighting spirit, or was ground down by Djokovic’s relentless sharpshooting after the second set.
“[Djokovic does] the things really, really easy,” Alcaraz said. “He moves really well. He hits the ball really well, really clearly. He has clean shot. 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.”
With two ATP matches vs Djokovic under his belt – he won the first one last year on clay in three sets – Carlos says he has figured out what adjustments to make to try to slay the man who has not lost a Center Court match at Wimbledon in ten years.
“I always say that I try to play aggressive all the time. I think my style, it’s always to play aggressive,” Alcaraz said. “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. Coming here to Wimbledon with a lot of confidence, thinking that I’m able to do a good results here. But obviously for me the main favorite is Djokovic. That’s obviously. 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.”
Carlos just won his first grass title at Queens Club but Djokovic has won four Wimbledons in a row and seven overall.
You can read more player stories and anecdotes about “Facing Djokovic” in Scoop’s book available at amazon for $9.99.
Carlos Alcaraz · Novak Djokovic · Wimbledon
2 comments
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Cyndy · July 9, 2023 at 2:17 am
Is he (“Alcagrass” as some call him on Twitter!) saying more things now you feel Scoop Maliknowski specially since his first grass title at Queens club. Was watching that match against Nico Jarry and for a moment there it seemed like Jarry would have won it in 5 but alas. Although a nice gesture by him to give away four of his rackets after the match, one for each set presumably since the win didn’t happen for him. Too much loud sounds from CA which at times sounded like ‘out’ to me and on the whole can be quite a bother!
Scoop Malinowski · July 9, 2023 at 7:50 am
Cyndy, Alcagrass ) is gaining confidence by the day and now he sounds like he believes he can avenge Djokovic for the Rolad Garros beatdown. Let’s see if he can get that far, Berrettini will be a big obstacle. Jarry’s original gesture will add greatly to his popularity, he’s 28 in the world and could be going well higher, maybe top 10-15.