Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz is getting more and more prominence in the tennis world. And with good reason, when the 20-year-old defeated four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
If we look back a month, the situation was very different. In the French Open semifinal matchup, Alcaraz faced off against Djokovic, but the results went in favor of Novak.
Alcaraz achieved one of his childhood dreams during the two weeks by capturing the Wimbledon trophy. He finally managed to defeat the powerful Novak Djokovic on a large stage this time, something he was unable to do at Roland Garros earlier.
Alcaraz recently discussed the steps he made to get over that heartbreaking defeat in Paris in an interview. He shared this during an interview and said: “At a mental level. Being aware that it is normal for me to play this type of match, I understood that I have to approach them with more relaxation as if it were routine. For the Wimbledon final, I had to change things, prepare myself differently mentally.”
Carlos surprised everyone with his new tactic to focus on the game: “I barely used my phone in the hours leading up to the final. I tried to cut myself off from the noise around the match, to put myself aside, to listen to more relaxing music, acoustic music with a slow rhythm. To relax as much as possible, to visualize what this final would be like, to do mental exercises that I had not done before.”
His determined performance throughout the Wimbledon final made it clearly evident that his strategy had changed. The importance of the situation didn’t overcome him.
Alcaraz in Toronto, ranking, and results in 2023
Currently ranked no.1, the Spaniard has achieved a compiled 49-4 match record in 2023. The Spaniard is currently playing in Toronto where he bested the world no.41 Ben Shelton 6-3 7-63 and the world no.17 Hubert Hurkacz 3-6 7-62 7-63.
Carlos Alcaraz will compete against the world no.14 Tommy Paul in the quarter on Friday at 7:00 pm on CENTER COURT. Their record is 1-1
.Carlos clinched 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. The Spaniard got to the final in Rio de Janeiro (Rio Open).
Carlos won 12 titles in his career: 3 on hard courts, 7 on clay courts and 2 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open) after Cincinnati. The main draw will start on the 13th of August.
Novak Djokovic in 2023
Now ranked no.2, Djokovic played his last encounter on the 16th of July when he was overcome by world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the final in Wimbledon (draw).
Currently, during this season Djokovic has managed to achieve a composed 33-5 record. Novak clinched 3 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open and French Open. Novak got to the final in Wimbledon.
Djokovic will play next in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 13th of August.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic faced off 3 times. Their actual record is 2-1 for Alcaraz. Before, the last time they played, Carlos Alcaraz won 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the final in London (Wimbledon) on the 16th of July 2023.
Here are the highlights.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |