Carlos Alcaraz knows he'll have to win the mental battle if he is to defeat Novak Djokovic at a Grand Slam.
Alcaraz recently suffered defeat to Djokovic in their French Open semifinal contest last month. Despite evening things at one set apiece, the Spaniard started cramping in the third set and would eventually lose as Djokovic advanced to the final with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Afterwards, Alcaraz admitted the tension and pressure of the moment played its part.
He would later bounce back by winning his first grass title at the Queen's Club Championships and regaining the No. 1 ranking from Djokovic.
The duo are the top seeds at Wimbledon as a result, and could meet each other in the final. And ahead of SW19, Alcaraz was asked what made playing Djokovic so difficult to which he replied:
“Well, the pressure. I would say the pressure that they put on everyone,” he said at the pre-tournament press conference (via Tennis 365). “You know, not only to me, to everyone to play at their best about three hours in a Grand Slam. I’m talking about the Grand Slam.
“I have to deal with that, but is something that I really want it. I hope to play a final here against him. But for me, this probably is the toughest thing facing Novak.”
Alcaraz's only win against Djokovic came in the Madrid Open semifinals on clay — a surface he is well-accustomed to.
On grass, the youngest World No. 1 in history has only played 11 games. Djokovic, in contrast, boasts a 109–18 record as he looks to win a record-tying eighth Wimbledon title.
And for Alcaraz, the thing stands out most about Djokovic is how he's able to do just about everything at a high level.
“I mean, they do the things really, really easy. He moves really well,” Alcaraz explained. “He hits the ball really well, really clearly. He has clean shot.
“It’s a mix of everything. I would say he doesn’t do anything wrong. He always make really easy everything. It’s really tough to find some weakness on his game.”
Alcaraz, meanwhile, looks to continue his aggressive playing style.
“I always say that I try to play aggressive all the time,” he added. “I think my style, it’s always to play aggressive. I think that’s the most important thing here on grass: to be aggressive, to try to go to the net, trying to hit big shots. I always trying in every surface.
“I think that suits really well on grass.”
Carlos Alcaraz plays plays Jeremy Chardy in his first-round matchup on Tuesday.
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