Carlos Alcaraz loves to play tennis, and sometimes, he loves it a bit too much, which can end in disaster if he's not careful.
The Spaniard plays tennis with a big smile, which is great for tennis because we haven't had a player with such a bright smile in recent years. It comes from him simply enjoying tennis, which is his favorite thing in the world.
He's happiest on the tennis courts, but sometimes, he enjoys himself too much. He's known to go for the flashy shot, which isn't always the right idea, especially not at big moments.
Sometimes, tennis is simple, but when he's feeling the moment, Alcaraz might attempt something outrageous, which he recognizes is something he may need to improve.
The same thing happened in his semi-final match at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships against Daniil Medvedev, which he ended up winning in four sets when he had a relatively simple overhead which he attempted to play as a drops hot, but the ball ended in the net. That's why he was asked about the moment after the match.
"Sometimes I have to go for the effective one rather than the other options. Sometimes I do it because I feel so nervous, and it’s the kind of thing that relaxes me. Because I’ve got a smile on my face doing disaster sometimes."
He's done a better job at it recently, especially at Roland Garros, where he won a trophy. The Spaniard held back his flashy points and simply went to win the match, which worked out well for him.
Still, he's likely going to play 'highlight' shots in the future and he's done that at Wimbledon so far as well. He's had a few matches where he started badly but then got serious and won comfortably.
That's what happened against Medvedev as well, but according to the 21-year-old's words, he just felt like he could pull it off at that moment. However, against Novak Djokovic in the final, such mistakes may be punished.
"In that moment I was feeling really calm. I was feeling that I can do these kind of shots. I have the confidence that when I hit these shots, I think they’re going to go in. Sometimes as I said, it’s a disaster. But it helps me a lot to relax, smile, and have fun on the court. But sometimes it’s difficult to do the simple shots."