Carlos Alcaraz makes ‘different feeling’ claim after thrilling Wimbledon win
Carlos Alcaraz has revealed the conditions at Wimbledon are ‘a bit slower’ than they were a year ago, as he sent out an ominous message to his rivals with a sensational win against Andrey Rublev on Centre Court.
Defending champion Alcaraz set up a quarter-final against Britain’s Cameron Norrie with a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 with against an inspired Rublev, who rocked the Spaniard onto the ropes with some thrilling big hitting in front of an enthralled evening crowd at Wimbledon.
After seeing off Novak Djokovic in the last two finals, this victory was an 18th in a row at Wimbledon for Alcaraz, with his last defeat coming against Jannik Sinner in 2022.
He served up some interesting comments in his post-match press conference, as he claimed he has a very different feel at Wimbledon compared to a year ago.
“This year for me is kind of different. It is a different kind of tennis this year on Wimbledon because I think is a different feeling,” said Alcaraz.
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“For me, it’s a little bit slower, the balls are a little bit slower. It’s different kind of feeling. But today I just played my best match so far on the tournament. Just feeling great.
“Obviously, in the French Open, it was totally different because I was playing more matches on clay before the French Open. So right now just trying to get that feeling, the feeling that I’m just really proud and happy that I got today, much better than the previous matches. Hopefully keep it going and feeling even more comfortable.”
Alcaraz needed to keep a positive mindset as Rublev was firing rockets at him in a brilliantly compelling first set, with the 22-year-old revealing how he convinces himself that he will get a positive outcome even when he is under pressure.
“Tennis is really a mental sport. How you talk to yourself is really, really important through the whole match,” he added.
“So I’m just trying to be as positive as I can. Sometimes it is really difficult. A lot of narratives, thoughts come to your mind most of the time because a tennis match could be really long.
“I’m always trying to fill my mind with positive thoughts all the time. Just repeating myself that I can do it, let’s go for it, all the things that are really helpful to play your best and not being afraid to play aggressively or to play my A plan.
“That’s my conversation with myself, that it’s really, really important to fill your mind with positive thoughts.”
This win ensured Alcaraz (22 years 56 days) is the youngest player to reach three consecutive quarter-finals at Wimbledon since Rafael Nadal (22 years 20 days, 2006-08).
He is also the youngest player in the Open Era to reach 12 men’s singles quarter-finals at Grand Slam events, ahead of Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal.
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