Carlos Alcaraz says if he wants to be the best he has to beat the best in the world ahead of his Wimbledon showdown with Novak Djokovic.
The world No.1 sealed his place in Sunday’s final with a straight sets win over Daniil Medvedev. The 20-year-old is through to only his second major final compared to his upcoming rival who will be contesting his 35th. Although Djokovic has insisted that experience will not be the deciding when they clash.
Alcaraz will be hoping to fare better than he did on the clay at Roland Garros against the Serbian where he started off guns blazing before suffering from severe cramping that hindered his movement. The two have only played against each other on the clay before on the Tour. Alcaraz won their first meeting at the 2021 Madrid Masters.
Reflecting on their most recent meeting in Paris, the Spaniard believes a major issue wasn’t so much to do with his physicality but with the mental side of his game.
“I will try to get on the court with not as much nerves as I probably had at the French Open,” he said.
‘I try to pull out all my nerves and try to enjoy that moment because in the semifinal at the French Open, I probably didn’t enjoy it at all in the first set probably.’
“I will prepare for the match a little bit differently.”
As to what the difference will be, Alcaraz is enlisting the help of his psychologist, as well as other members of his team. Since 2020 he has been working with Isabel Balaguer who is a professor of special psychology at Valencia University and an honorary research fellow at Birmingham University in the UK.
“Physically I’ll do the same,” he said of his preparation for the final.
“In the mental part, I will do something different to stay calm and to show that I’m not nervous.’
“I will talk with her (Balaguer) about how to prepare for that match and that important moment which is not going to be easy.”
It is not just the daunting task of facing Djokovic, who he describes as a ‘beast,’ that Alcaraz has to deal with. It is also the situation of reaching the final of a tournament that he grew up idolizing.
Following his latest win on Center Court, he describes playing the title match at Wimbledon as a dream. Something he reiterated to reporters later on in the day when asked how important it is to him.
“It’s probably going to be the best moment of my life,” he replied.
“Playing a final in Wimbledon is something that I dreamt about when I started playing tennis. It’s even better playing against Novak.’
“It’s going to be a really emotional moment for me. But I’ll try to stay calm. For Novak it is one more day, one more moment. For me, it’s going to be the best moment of my life I think.”
Should Alcaraz win Wimbledon he would become only the second Spanish man to do so in the Open Era after Rafael Nadal. He would also become the 3rd-youngest player in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg.