"I'm going to be a great player on grass" - Alcaraz motivated following Wimbledon exit

Monday, 04 July 2022 at 06:30

Updated at Saturday, 25 January 2025 at 14:11

Alcaraz Carlos Wimbledon2022 MartinSidorjak6

byErik Virostko

Despite losing already in the fourth round of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, Carlos Alcaraz sees only positives and ways how to improve on the grass courts.

It was only the second Wimbledon appearance for the 19-year-old Alcaraz, and after reaching the second round last year, he got to the fourth round this season.

In the future, he will always be entering the tournament as one of the favorites, and the Spanish sensation believes that he can do well on grass in SW19 in the future.

Following his loss to Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of the tournament, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6(8), 3-6, the Spaniard praised his opponent but also showed belief in his qualities.

"I'm going to try to be one of the best tennis players in the world for many years. Obviously, Jannik is one of the best tennis players in the world as well."

"For sure he's going to be in the top for many years. I hope to have a good rivalry with him. We hope to fight for the best tournaments in the world and the best moments in the world together."

Alcaraz admitted that he was nervous at the start of the match. The two met at the Centre Court, which got the better of the Spaniard early on. As the match went on, he got to some chances, but it was too late.

"[At the] start [I] was really nervous. Playing on Centre Court is not easy for me. Jannik handled it better than me, the nerves and the pressure. I was trying to get better, trying to think [about] what was happening… I was struggling a lot with my serve and couldn't return well."

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"After the third set I had chances to break to be up in the fourth, but I couldn't take the chances. I think the second break point he had, he broke me. It was tough to come back in the fourth being a break down. I couldn't take the chances. That's tough."

This year, Alcaraz played only one exhibition event prior to Wimbledon. He wants to change that last year, as he believes that with better preparation and more experience, he can become a great grass-court player.

"I felt really good here at Wimbledon playing on grass. I got a lot of experience playing on grass. Now I'm thinking that I could be a great player on grass."

"Next year I hope to play some tournaments before Wimbledon to adapt my game to get more used to playing here. But I would say I'm going to be a great player here on grass."