Having captured his first French Open title, Carlos Alcaraz will arrive at Wimbledon in July with the goal of defending a grand slam title for the first time. The 21-year-old three-time major champion is targeting 15 years of dominance at the top of the game but doesn’t plan on losing his ‘trademark’ smile while doing so.
Alcaraz, who won his third grand slam title by beating Alexander Zverev at Roland-Garros, believes there is “no reason” for him to lose his smile as he aims to reach the summit of men’s tennis. “This smile, which they say is my trademark, there is no reason to lose it,” said Alcaraz. “Why not take advantage of everything that is offered to us through this profession? There is no reason why I wouldn’t feel comfortable on the circuit. So for me, another 15 years like this suits me very well.”
Following his win on the clay courts of Paris, Alcaraz leapfrogged 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic into No. 2 in the ATP world rankings. Italian Jannik Sinner became the new world No. 1 after the French Open, despite falling to Alcaraz in a five-set thriller in the semi-finals. Alcaraz will no doubt be targeting the No. 1 spot with two majors remaining in 2024 – Wimbledon and the US Open.
Despite finding so much success early in his career, Alcaraz stated he has already had to overcome adversity after failing to win a tournament between Wimbledon in 2023 and Indian Wells in 2024. The Spaniard points to his victory at Indian Wells as an important moment in his career as he looks to follow in the footsteps of the ‘big three’ – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and compatriot Rafael Nadal.
“Indian Wells was a key moment, yes. There, everything went well on and off the court. We laughed a lot with my team during these two weeks, with this ability to disconnect from the tournament. It helped me enormously to regain my feelings, to get closer to my 100%. Truly very precious moments.”
Having impressively captured his first three grand slams on hard court, grass, and clay, Alcaraz will look to tick off another box in his fledgling career – his first defense of a major title. He has the chance to do just that at Wimbledon in July.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
WLLWLWWWWW At the moment ranked no.2, Alcaraz played his last match on the 9th of June when he beat world no.4 Alexander Zverev 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2 in the final of the French Open to win his 15th career title.
During this season Alcaraz has a 25-5 record. Carlos has won 2 titles in 2024 in Indian Wells and French Open.
Carlos Alcaraz |
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