Alcaraz Dismisses Favorite Tag Ahead Of Sinner Clash And Admits To Extra Nerves

Thursday, 06 June 2024 at 21:40

byZachary Wimer

Carlos Alcaraz will face Jannik Sinner in the 2024 Roland Garros semi-final, and he doesn't consider himself a favorite.

The two youngsters have been the best performers at this year's Roland Garros so far. They've been amazing, and both have about an equal chance to win the season's second major.

Many would pick Alcaraz as a favorite in their match, mostly because of his clay-court qualities, but he wouldn't agree with that. Sinner has been the best player this year by far, and even though the Spaniard beat him in Indian Wells, it's still not enough for him to declare himself a favorite.

He does enjoy the challenge of problem-solving in real-time, and he'll have to do that a lot against the Italian, at least if he wants to win.

"I really like having to find solutions on the fly to change the course of the matches, like I did in Indian Wells. I think I have been learning from him every time we have faced each other."

"I know that I am facing the great challenge of today in the world of tennis, so I don't feel like a favorite and I will surely be a little more nervous than usual. Since the draw was known, everyone wanted to see this semifinal and so did I."

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It's a spectacular matchup with two best players in the world right now going head-to-head on clay, a surface, which ensures a lot of great rallies and shot-making, which means it should be a great battle.

Alcaraz expects it himself, and he's ready for it, because he knows that playing the fellow prodigy only makes him a better player, the same way the Big Three pushed each other.

"I really want to face him, it's going to be a great battle and I would love to have that face-to-face win. He has gained a lot of consistency this year, he always shows a very high level on the court."

"He doesn't do anything wrong, he has an incredible ball strike, he constantly pushes you to the limit and it is very difficult to take the initiative away from him. I love the challenge of measuring myself against him because it makes me wake up every day wanting to be a better player."