Carlos Alcaraz is enjoying his stay in London so much that he's thinking more ambitiously about Wimbledon now.
Alcaraz arrived in London without his coach Ferrero making his first Cinch Championships experience even more trickier than it already was. Alcaraz arrived with serious doubts about his grass tennis at the event though he was able to dispel some of those rather quickly.
The first match saw him predictably struggle a bit but his second against Jiri Lehecka was much better. It went so smoothly that Alcaraz found time to remain on the course after the match to work on his serves. The newfound confidence on grass was evident rather quickly. Besides his level, his attitude towards the surface changed a bit.
I feel really comfortable here on grass. I’m happy getting experience on grass. Knowing I have this level, I’m really happy about it. After this match and this level, I think I’m ready to get good results on grass.
The win over Lehecka sent him to his maiden grass quarter-final but certainly not the last. He'll have a chance to make his maiden grass semi-final though a matchup against Grigor Dimitrov won't be that easy. They've played before and Alcaraz won both matches but this is their first one on grass.
Well, I feel great, you know, having my first quarterfinal on grass, my first quarterfinal here on Queen's. Yeah, I'm really happy with the level that I played today. You know, I hope to keep this high level into the quarterfinals.
The movement was a particular concern for Alcaraz before heading out to London and it's still something he thinks about. Asked to elaborate, the Spaniard explained that he has to alter pretty much how he moves on the court on grass.
Well, you have to be more focused, you know, on the footwork here. Talking from me, I can't slide as I do on clay or on hard court, so you have to know that and, you know, practicing from that part, you have to adapt your moves or your hit on grass..
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