Can Alcaraz Take Queen's Title Form Into Wimbledon?
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will compete in just his fourth tour-level event on grass when he takes to court on Tuesday at Wimbledon. The 20-year-old enters the major with high expectations, though, after winning his first title on the surface last week four miles away from SW19 at The Queen’s Club.
“I started at Queen's with no expectations to win Queen's, and I won it. For me, I feel great playing such a great level. The confidence grew a lot,” Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday. “[I am] coming here to Wimbledon with a lot of confidence, thinking that I'm able to do good results here. But obviously for me the main favourite is Djokovic.
“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 confident and I feel ready to do good things here.”
[ATP APP]
Top seed Alcaraz has been a dominant force on the Tour in the past two years. The Spaniard has won 11 trophies and became the youngest year-end ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone in 2022.
His dynamic all-court game has lit up courts around the world and the Spaniard is excited to bring his aggressive style to grass this fortnight.
“I always say that I try to play aggressive all the time,” Alcaraz 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 grass.”
Alcaraz, who holds a 40-4 record on the season, advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. He will begin his quest for a second major title against 36-year-old Frenchman Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday.