Alcaraz, before Djokovic and his ghosts

Carlitos Alcaraz, child prodigy of tennis, a fibrous body followed since childhood, and today he stood at the start of the third set of the semifinals of Roland Garros with a team of almost a dozen professionals. Cramped, he couldn’t even walk, although he finished the game on the track, waiting for a sudden recovery that never came. Until he lost to Novak Djokovic, who was celebrating his 23rd Grand Slam tournament in Paris. At the age of 20, the Spaniard has the chance to bury that nightmare today, in the Wimbledon final (15:00, #Vamos), again against Djokovic, the second time with all the eyes of the sports world on his shoulders. Play against their ghosts and against giants with racket in hand.

“I cringed from the nerves and tension of playing with a legend. He pushes you to the limit during the game. If someone plays against Djokovic and he says he doesn’t notice the tension, he’s lying to you. I have to learn a lesson for next time. “The tension took its toll on me after two very tough sets,” explained Alcaraz, as honest as he was humble, after his collapse in Paris. He lost the first set, won the second and managed to scare the living legend. But according to his own story, his body was fed up with nerves and said enough is enough.

Novak Djokovic – Carlos Alcaraz – Roland Garros 2023 pic.twitter.com/YuDGEHEHnB

— Djokovic bestshots (@nolebestshots) June 26, 2023

“It can’t be,” he admitted aloud as he froze by the couples aisle on the track. “It’s not just here, it’s here and here and here,” he told his team shortly after. “First it was the hands, then the legs and finally practically everything,” he revealed at the press conference. Thus, today’s Wimbledon final for Alcaraz is a continuation, or revenge, or redemption, of that defeat at Roland Garros.

Although neither the background nor the stage nor your own experience are the same. He has to attack the seven-time Wimbledon champion on grass today.

“I’m not afraid,” warns Alcaraz now, boosted by his grass-court title at Queen’s and a convincing performance at Wimbledon, where he took on guys of the caliber of Barrettini and Medvedev. “Yes, it’s a very good challenge for me. In the end, in big moments and against big legends you have to show your best version. I’ve already said that I think I can face this kind of situation and we’ll prove it,” added Alcaraz.

There is no precedent on grass between the Spaniard and the Serb, who differ by 16 years, ranging from Alcaraz’s 20 to Djokovic’s 36, which he called ridiculous on Friday given his superb current form, to the match of three Grand Slam tournaments in a row: « 36 is the new 26″.

Alcaraz will hardly touch his routines to avoid another block against Djokovic. “I am not one of those who practice meditation (…). I will try not to think too much about the game and that I will play the final against Djokovic, laugh with my team and joke.

For Djokovic, the match has huge dimensions: equaling Margaret Court’s 24 grands for men and women and Federer’s eight Wimbledons.

Ferrero: “You have to try to make him play calmly”

Former world number 1 and coach of Carlos Alcaraz Juan Carlos Ferrero offered his analysis of today’s final to the Spanish media yesterday.

EXPERIENCE

“The more times you play against someone, you learn to manage time”

“I think that when you play against someone more than once, you learn to manage time a little bit. I think the situation is similar [a Roland Garros]Maybe Đoković has more favoritism here, with the fact that it works a little in favor of Carlos when he needs to be a little calmer. I think what you have to do well is try to get Carlos to play calmly, fluently, like he did yesterday or during the tournament. But hey, you have to look at the game with possible tension and nervousness.

TACTICS

“Let’s see if we can get that out of the background beat”

“Tactically, you have to generate a very good game, I think both of them are very good at the back and Carlos goes a little more towards the net, he can have a little more dynamism in that sense. We’ll see if we can get him out of the background a little bit and make him not feel comfortable at all.

ROUTINES

“Play and enjoy”

“We must not create different routines from what we have been doing. Today [por ayer] It will be a quiet day, a little gym, be fresh for the finals, try to isolate yourself from the phone, from everything that comes your way, and then play and enjoy. Cell phone? The initiative is ours. I don’t know if we will achieve it in the end because it is a bit of a lost battle, but I advised him to try to isolate himself a little more from everything, from everything that is said about the party.

DIFFICULTIES

“We will go all the way, forget about statistics”

“We will go all out for him, forgetting a bit about the statistics because, if not, then it will be very difficult. He is a player with two hands and two feet, like us.”