London, June 29: Carlos Alcaraz’s first match on a grass court came just six years ago.
He’s obviously a quick study.
When Wimbledon gets started Monday, the 22-year-old from Spain will play in the first Centre Court match of this fortnight, an honour reserved for the previous year’s men’s champion. The contest against Fabio Fognini will open Alcaraz’s a bid for a third consecutive championship at the place.
That’s something only four men have achieved in the Open era, which began in 1968: Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Not bad company.
Alcaraz already is 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, which includes going 2-0 at the French Open – which he won three weeks ago via a comeback from two sets down against No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final – and 1-0 at the US Open.
Last year, the No. 2-ranked Alcaraz became the youngest man to win a major trophy on each surface: grass, clay and hard courts.
But he’s got a fondness for the green stuff.
“The most beautiful tennis that we can watch is on grass. The style that the people bring to the court when they play on grass. … The sound of the ball,” said Alcaraz, who will go into Monday on a career-best 18-match winning streak, including a title at the Queen’s Club tournament last weekend. “The movement is really tough, but when you get it, it’s kind of (as though) you’re flying.” He loves that it allows him to show off the variety in his game and all of the skills he possesses.
Few players smile as much as Alcaraz does while in the thick of things, no matter what challenges might be presented by the foe across the net or the tension of the moment.
He is as creative as it gets with a racket in hand, sometimes to his own detriment, and admits enjoying seeing replays on arena video screens after some of his best deliveries (that technology isn’t used at the All England Club, but perhaps it should be).
“I really want to hit slices, drop shots, going to the net all the time, playing aggressively,” said Alcaraz, who said he lost to two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray during a round of golf early in the week. “I think on grass it’s the style that you have to play, so that’s what I like the most.”
It’s instructive to hear what Djokovic had to say about Alcaraz after a straight-set loss in last year’s final at the All England Club.
“He just was better than me in every aspect of the game,” Djokovic said. “In movement, in the way he was just striking the ball beautifully, serving great. Everything.”
Those words carry weight. Djokovic has won seven of his men’s-record 24 Grand Slam trophies at Wimbledon but was the runner-up to Alcaraz in 2023 and 2024.
When it comes to the idea of joining an elite group by completing a three-peat in two weeks’ time, Alcaraz insisted that isn’t the sort of thing he really cares about or spends time considering.
He wants the title, yes. But where it would place him in history? Leave that to others.
“I really want to lift the trophy,” Alcaraz said. “But right now, I’m not thinking about who I could join if I win three Wimbledons in a row.”
Djokovic’s chance at a record 25th Grand Slam
It’s become part of Djokovic’s routine now, particularly at Grand Slam tournaments: He shows up and gets asked – at the start of the event, during the event, after the event or sometimes all three – whether this will be his final appearance there.
Happened again Saturday at Wimbledon, and his response was the same it tends to be, which essentially amounts to: Who can tell? “Whether it could be my last dance,’” the 24-time major champion began, repeating the phrase used by the reporter who posed the question, “I’m not sure – as I’m not sure about Roland Garros or any other Slam that I play next.”
And then Djokovic continued, offering something of a mix of seemingly trying to quiet any talk about whether he truly is pondering retirement at age 38 while also being realistic about where things stand.
“My wish is to play for several more years. I would love to be healthy physically and also mentally motivated to keep on playing at the highest level,” he said. “That’s the goal. But you never know at this stage.”
What Djokovic did concede is that the All England Club might offer the likeliest spot for him to gather one more Grand Slam singles title, which would allow him to raise his career haul to 25 – a number that no tennis player ever has reached.
“I would probably agree that Wimbledon could be the best chance, because of the results I had, because of how I feel, how I play in Wimbledon,” said Djokovic, who faces Alexandre Muller in the first round Tuesday.
“Just getting that extra push mentally and motivation to perform the best tennis at the highest level.”
Djokovic has won seven championships at the grass-court major and come oh-so-close to making his total eight – the number Federer won, and one behind Martina Navratilova’s record nine women’s trophies – but lost in the 2023 and 2024 finals to Alcaraz.
All told, Djokovic has appeared in the title match each of the past six times the tournament was held (it was cancelled in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic), winning it in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
His most recent Wimbledon loss came all the way back in 2017, when he was defeated in the quarterfinals by 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych. (AP)
