Carlos Alcaraz went into the Queen’s Club tournament with limited expectations and ended up winning his first grass-court title.
Now the new world number 1 plans to follow a similar approach when he aims to win his first Wimbledon title next month.
At his press conference after his 6-4 6-4 defeat to Alex de Minaur in Sunday’s final in London, Alcaraz was in a jovial mood when asked if his victory at Queen’s Club had changed his expectations before Wimbledon.
“No expectations,” he replied when asked about his Wimbledon hopes. “You know, if I have no expectations, I will win (smile).
“But no, honestly, yes, I have a lot of confidence at the moment going into Wimbledon. I finished the week playing at a high level. So right now I feel like one of the favorites, you know, to win Wimbledon.
“But yeah, I consider myself, you know, a good grass court player with all the weapons I have.”
The subject of ending Djokovic was a recurring theme at Alcaraz’s press conference after he presented the major silver winners’ trophy and he admitted he was up for the challenge of ending to the Serbian’s long invincibility at the All England Club.
“I’m heading into Wimbledon at the moment with a lot of confidence. It’s obvious,” Alcaraz said.
“I saw a statistic that Novak won more matches at Wimbledon than the other top 20 players. What can I say about that, you know? I mean, Novak is the main favorite to win Wimbledon. This is obvious.
“But I’m going to try to play at that level, you know, to have a chance, you know, of beating him or reaching the final at Wimbledon. A lot of players come in with a lot of confidence, like (Alexander) Bublik who also won Halle.
“So there are a lot of great players playing on grass. I have to do my best, you know, go to Wimbledon playing at this level. I’ll have chances, that’s for sure.
“I see Novak as the big favorite. This victory for me is not going to change that.
Alcaraz was also asked about the enthusiastic reception he received from London fans, with the journalist who asked the question suggesting he might already be more popular than Djokovic in a city where he has always been well received .
“Like I said, I felt the love from the people from day one,” he added.
“For me it’s really, really important. I hope that at Wimbledon I feel the same energy, the same love that I felt this week. You know, I hope that helps me, you know , to go through the rounds at Wimbledon.
“But I also saw that Djokovic has never lost a match on Center Court since I think 2013 when he lost to Andy (Murray), so it’s been 10 years without losing a match on Center Court at Wimbledon.
“So it’s crazy, but I hope I have the crowd behind me for a chance to change those stats.”
The tennis world would love the chance to witness another Alcaraz vs. Djokovic showdown in the third Grand Slam final of 2023 and, judging by the form shown by the young Spaniard at Queen’s, it could be the biggest threat that the seven-time Wimbledon king has faced in recent years.
LEARN MORE: ‘Novak Djokovic has everything – mentally he’s a beast,’ says WTA star
