Carlos Alcaraz’s early morning walk after the warm-up before the final was symptomatic. Surrounded by a belt of six security guards, the tennis player walks the 500 metres of the main artery of the All England Club with a smile from ear to ear. Not at all the serious or even sad expression that some tennis players usually display. He smiles, heeds the cheers of the crowd around him and sticks out his thumb, eager to tackle Novak Djokovic and convinced of beating the Serbian, which is what happens. In the afternoon, after rounding off his work, the Murcian expresses himself as one of the six players who have been able to conquer Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year since the birth of the Open Era (1968). Before him, Laver (1969), Borg (1978, 1979 and 1980), Nadal (2008 and 2010), Federer (2009) and Nole (2021).
However, and this is what is most striking, Alcaraz conveys the idea that this has only just begun. Far from showing signs of relaxation, he conveys pure nonconformity. “It is an honour to be among the players who have won these tournaments in the same season. It is incredible to be at the same table as Novak and other great champions, but I still do not consider myself a champion, or at least not like them. I try to continue building my path,” says the Murcian, who has become the third tennis player aged 21 or younger to win more than one Wimbledon trophy after the Swede Björn Borg and the German Boris Becker.
Despite his short career in the elite, which he entered fully in 2021 after what was hinted before the outbreak of the pandemic, in 2020, Alcaraz has already won 15 titles, the same as Emilio Sánchez Vicario; thus, he is now just one away from the number of titles that José Higueras and his coach won in their entire careers.
“Obviously I see and hear all the statistics, but I try not to think about it too much. It’s a great start to my career, yes, but I have to keep going because, if I don’t, all these tournaments won’t matter,” he explains. “I want to keep improving and growing. I don’t know what my limit is and I don’t want to think about it. I just want to enjoy my moment and keep dreaming. We’ll see at the end of my career if it’s 25, 30, 15 or four majors. The only thing I know is that I want to keep enjoying myself,” continues the champion, who continues to perceive Djokovic as “a Superman” because, he stresses, “what Novak has done in this tournament, with an operation just a few weeks before it started, is truly incredible.”
Federer and Court are saved
Alcaraz believes, in any case, that it is positive for his sport that “new faces” like him and Jannik Sinner are emerging, and he remembers that the semi-final loss last year against Daniil Medvedev in New York helped him learn a lot. “I gave up a bit, and that is unacceptable,” he stresses. He also lost at the Australian Open, against Alexander Zverev, but he got back on track in Paris and is back in London. Again, against Djokovic. The Balkan player is not usually heedless of praise for him, aware that tennis has found a gifted player destined to ascend to the highest floor of the pyramid.
“Carlos was better in every aspect: in movement, in the way he hit the ball, incredible, his great serve… Everything. I have done everything I could to prepare for this match and the tournament in general; if someone had told me that I would be playing the final three or four weeks ago, I would not have believed them. But I will always find faults,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion, whose defeat prevents him from reaching Roger Federer’s record at Wimbledon (eight titles) and distancing himself from the Australian Margaret Court, also 24.
Djokovic says that the joint he damaged in Paris and which forced him to undergo surgery on June 5 has obviously affected him these days, but that it has not necessarily been decisive. He also rules out that another tactical bet would have led him to a better place. “Honestly, I don’t think so. You can always analyse the match afterwards and say: ‘I could have done this or that’, but, in general, I felt inferior. That’s all. He was a better player, he played every shot better than me and I don’t think he could have done anything else,” concludes the Belgrade native, who is now aiming for the Paris Games, like Alcaraz. The Murcian will return home for a few days and will soon be part of the Spanish team’s expedition. He will do so in style, with a double in his backpack.
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