LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday summed up the unique challenge of facing Novak Djokovic by insisting his rival “doesn’t do anything wrong”.
World number one Alcaraz is seen as the only player possible of preventing Djokovic from claiming an eighth Wimbledon title and 24th Grand Slam.
However, at the French Open, he was swept aside by Djokovic in the semi-finals, admitting the cramping he suffered in that Roland Garros duel was caused by the “stress and tension” of seeing the Serb on the other side of the net.
“He does things really, really easy. He moves really well. He hits the ball well, really clearly,” said 20-year-old Alcaraz.
“He has clean shot. It’s a mix of everything. I would say he doesn’t do anything wrong. It’s really tough to find some weakness in his game.”
US Open champion Alcaraz made the last 16 at Wimbledon in 2022 in only his second appearance at the tournament.
However, he warmed up for the third Grand Slam event of the season by lifting the Queen’s grass-court trophy last weekend.
It was his fifth title of 2023 and allowed him to knock Djokovic off the top of the rankings.
“I started Queen’s with no expectation to win and I won it,” he said.
“I feel great playing such a great level. The confidence grew up a lot. But obviously for me the main favourite here is Djokovic. That’s obvious.”
Alcaraz starts his Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday against French veteran Jeremy Chardy who will retire after the tournament.
World number one Alcaraz is seen as the only player possible of preventing Djokovic from claiming an eighth Wimbledon title and 24th Grand Slam.
However, at the French Open, he was swept aside by Djokovic in the semi-finals, admitting the cramping he suffered in that Roland Garros duel was caused by the “stress and tension” of seeing the Serb on the other side of the net.
“He does things really, really easy. He moves really well. He hits the ball well, really clearly,” said 20-year-old Alcaraz.
“He has clean shot. It’s a mix of everything. I would say he doesn’t do anything wrong. It’s really tough to find some weakness in his game.”
US Open champion Alcaraz made the last 16 at Wimbledon in 2022 in only his second appearance at the tournament.
However, he warmed up for the third Grand Slam event of the season by lifting the Queen’s grass-court trophy last weekend.
It was his fifth title of 2023 and allowed him to knock Djokovic off the top of the rankings.
“I started Queen’s with no expectation to win and I won it,” he said.
“I feel great playing such a great level. The confidence grew up a lot. But obviously for me the main favourite here is Djokovic. That’s obvious.”
Alcaraz starts his Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday against French veteran Jeremy Chardy who will retire after the tournament.
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