Carlos Alcaraz: 'Federer Put Elegance Into Playing On Grass'

Wednesday, 21 June 2023 at 05:00

Updated at Monday, 11 August 2025 at 14:19

byZachary Wimer

Carlos Alcaraz played his first match ever at the Cinch Championships, and it was a good start for him on the grass.

Alcaraz only played two events on grass before competing at the ATP 500 tournament in London this year. It was Wimbledon last year and the grass-court Grand Slam also the year before.

This year's Cinch Championships is only his third grass event, and even though he racked up more wins than defeats, the Spaniard wasn't particularly confident about his grass tennis.

The surface is not the issue, as he quite enjoys it, but the familiarity with it isn't the same compared to clay and hard courts. Its surface with a learning curve, and the movement, in particular, was a concern for him.

In his first match, Alcaraz's movement looked good, and he enjoyed it as well, which he said after his opening-round win.

"Yeah. I enjoy playing on grass. I mean, playing on grass is beautiful, and I would say the game of everybody becomes, you know, more beautiful, I would say."

Wimbledon and the whole grass season have a certain charm to them. Besides probably being the most prestigious tennis event, Wimbledon also has the legend of Roger Federer.

No player looked more 'beautiful' and elegant on a tennis court, and Alcaraz grew up watching him play. Memories of him waltzing around the grass court in all-white clothing are things the Spaniard has in his memories.

"Serve and volley, return/volley, you know, slices. I would say Federer put elegance into play on grass. I am talking for me."

"Yeah, I like to hit, you know, good shots, go to the net hitting, you know, dropshots, volley and dropshots. I would say that's beautiful for me. That's why I'm enjoying play on grass."

The win over Arthur Rinderknech pits Alcaraz against Jiri Lehecka, another youngster who doesn't have much experience on grass. They never played before on the ATP Tour and all the advantage goes to Alcaraz as the far better player right now.