Carlos Alcaraz reveals Roger Federer defeat flashed through his mind – ‘Please, don’t let that happen to you’

Shahida Jacobs 20 Jul 2023 9:58 AM

An elated Carlos Alcaraz

What goes through the mind of a tennis player when they are about to serve for the Wimbledon title? Carlos Alcaraz has given some insight into his thoughts and emotions moments before he won the trophy.

Alcaraz overcame a nightmare start in the 2023 Wimbledon final to defeat Novak Djokovic in five sets to secure the second Grand Slam of his career, having also won the US Open last September.

The pivotal movement in the deciding set came in game three when the Spaniard broke his more esteemed opponent’s serve, but it meant he had to serve for the championship seven games later.

Even the best in the business sometimes feel the tension when they have to serve for a crucial match so what exactly went through the 20-year-old’s mind during the changeover before he came out to serve for the title.

“I was trying to be calm and serene,” he is quoted as saying by ATP Tour. “Keeping my mind blank. When I got up, I felt butterflies in my stomach and my legs. It’s difficult to handle.

“I thought about getting the first serve in and… I was thinking in my head that it was normal to feel nervous closing out the match.”

And he even had a flashback of Roger Federer’s 2019 Wimbledon final defeat to the same Djokovic.

Having broken in game 15 of the deciding set, Swiss great Federer found himself serving for the title and he built a 40-15 lead, but Djokovic saved both match points as he broke back before going on to win the tie-breaker and the championship.

Alcaraz added: “I’ve watched a lot of tennis. For someone like Federer to lose that final… I think that’s so tough. I told myself: ‘Please, don’t let that happen to you. Do whatever it takes.’ But I did think about it at that moment.”

Unlike Federer, Alcaraz made no mistake and won on his first match point as he claimed a 1–6, 7–6 (8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 victory.

“Probably the best moment was after winning,” the Spaniard said. “When it was over, I wasn’t thinking, my mind was blank, I simply went through the motions: I threw myself to the ground and just wanted to hug my team, celebrate it with my people.

“My mind didn’t say ‘Wow, I’ve won Wimbledon, I’ve achieved my dream.’ It was simply a question of going through the motions.”