Carlos Alcaraz continued his 2023 Cinch Championships run by booking his first-ever grass quarter-final with a win over Jiri Lehecka.
The Spaniard arrived in London without his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero which isn't ideal for a player who expressed some serious doubts about his level on this surface. The movement was singled out as the main problem for him, calling it more tiring than that on clay which shows that even for all of his greatness, Alcaraz still understands his limitations.
His level was a bit shaky against Arthur Rinderknech though that match featured a very late change in nomination so he wasn't that well prepared for it. He won the match, setting up this one against Lehecka and it proved a really smooth win against a fellow youngster who hasn't played that much on grass either.
After the match, Alcaraz joked with reports that he might need to rethink his goals for the grass season after putting forward a very impressive performance. It's a joke but it was always possible for him to play well on this surface because he has all of the tools. The movement and unfamiliarity can be sorted out by him simply playing a lot of tennis on it and that's the goal.
Maybe I have to change my expectations about the grass now...
It wasn't a quick trip to the shower after the match for the Spaniard as he was spotted working on his serve not long after the conclusion of the match. The match wasn't long and probably didn't tire him out that much so he used that extra time to practice his serve a bit.
It's a very important shot on any surface let alone grass and his serve can certainly improve. It's not a weakness but it can always be better and Alcaraz knows it as he disclosed after the match.
"Well, you know, I play great, I'm really happy with my performance, with the way that I played, you know, but I can be better (smiling). You know, Samuel told me to do some stuff after the match, some serves, some forehand, you know, just to feel a little bit better. But it doesn't mean that I'm not happy with the way that I hit the ball or the way that I played today."
During the 2023 Roland Garros semifinal run, the Spaniard almost never practiced between matches, so he was also asked whether the fact that now he practiced also after the match means that he's feeling physically much better.
"Well, I'm feeling great. You know, I'm not worried about it. I just continue with I'm doing well, and, you know, I'm really happy with everything that I'm doing right now. So, you know, it's depend of the tournament, depend of other things that I'm practicing or not, but right now I'm feeling great."
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