The Spaniard defends his title and seeks a double after Roland Garros
MADRID, 30 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz has been defending his title at Wimbledon since the third Grand Slam of the season begins in London on Monday, and he needs to demonstrate his rapid adaptation to grass again, this year as the recent champion of Roland Garros, in the face of the Serbian Novak Djokovic and the Italian Jannik Sinner.
At 21, Alcaraz’s career has only just begun, but with the youngest number one in ATP history at 19 and three majors among the 14 trophies he has won, there are already moments that will live on in the history of the sport. One of them is the final on English grass last year, which he won against Djokovic, who was seeking his fifth consecutive Wimbledon.
The same ‘Nole’ who had made him tremble in the semi-finals of the French Open a month earlier, and who boasted of playing in his London garden, against an Alcaraz who was then playing the fourth tournament on grass of his career. The Murcia native demonstrated an unprecedented ability to adapt, on the fastest and most complicated surface on the circuit, and won in an epic five-set victory.
A year later, the Murcian legend continues to write golden pages, like the one last month in Paris. His pupil emulated his teacher, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and the one from El Palmar was proclaimed Roland Garros champion, leaving behind the injury to his right forearm that he had sustained on the dirt tour. The youngest tennis player to reach the final of the three ‘big’ surfaces went further by winning five sets against the German Alexander Zverev.
Now, the Spanish player will have to regain his sensations on grass, which he did not find at Queen’s after losing in his second match, although at the All England Tennis Club he has a few rounds to test after a favourable draw. The Murcia native will make his debut this Monday against Estonian Mark Lajal and, after that, Sebastian Ofner, Frances Tiafoe, Ugo Humbert and Tommy Paul appear in his hypothetical path.
The Alcaraz phenomenon wants to confirm the change in cycle that brought his title last year, when 20 years later there was a champion other than the ‘Big 4’. In that task, Sinner also has a lot to say, in fact as current number one in the world and as winner a week ago in the Halle tournament (Germany).
The Italian, who could face the Spaniard in the semi-finals, finished 2023 on a high note and this season he continued his results. Alcaraz was his brake in Paris and the Italian will undoubtedly seek revenge in the English capital, where he is physically better after a hip injury that complicated his tour on clay.
Meanwhile, Djokovic will also be wanting revenge against the Spaniard, for that final that he missed last year, to recover his love affair with Wimbledon in search of his eighth title and the 25th ‘big’ one, which would leave him at the top of men’s and women, by breaking the tie with the Australian Margaret Court.
The Serbian knows he is taking a risk after injuring his knee in the fourth round of Roland Garros, but missing another major was not an option for him. “The idea of missing Wimbledon was not right. I didn’t want to deal with that,” he said at a press conference on Saturday. “I’m here to win,” he added.
Anything other than seeing the Spaniard, the Serbian or the Italian lift the title on July 14 will be a surprise. German Alexander Zverev said beforehand that he sees himself with more chances than ever and Russian Daniil Medvedev is another serious candidate. As for the Spanish participation, in addition to Alcaraz, Pablo Carreño, Pedro Martínez, Roberto Bautista, Alejandro Davidovich, Roberto Carballés, Jaume Munar and Alejandro Moro will be in London.
In the women’s team, Cristina Bucsa, Jessica Bouzas, Rebeka Masárová, Sara Sorribes and Paula Badosa will be the Spanish ones. There, the Czech Marketa Vondrousova defends her title and the world number one, the Polish Iga Swiatek, is looking for her first Wimbledon, in the midst of a streak of 19 victories that culminated in her fourth Roland Garros.
Also favourites are world number two, young American Coco Gauff, who fell in the first round last year but then won the US Open, and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, although she is not in good physical shape, burdened by a shoulder injury that caused her to withdraw a week ago in Berlin. Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, champion in 2022, is another of the contenders.
2024-06-30 16:28:33
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