A Wimbledon SF spot assured, Carlos Alcaraz turns focus to Euro 2024
Carlos Alcaraz’s tense sports day on Tuesday wasn’t over when he won his Wimbledon quarter-final victory against Tommy Paul.
Match Reaction
All the way to Wimbledon Alcaraz’s sporting day isn’t completed
Spaniard sets his sights on a repeat of his 2023 semi-final clash with Medvedev
July 09, 2024
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Carlos Alcaraz is two wins from winning the Wimbledon title. By ATP Staff
With the day’s affairs completed after his four-set victory against Tommy Paul in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz turned his attention to the next important match of the day: Spain’s semi-final match in the semi-finals against France during Euro 2024.
In his press meeting shortly after the start of the match, Alcaraz was asked first to determine if the game was in his thoughts during his 5-7,6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory against the American.
“Honestly, at the beginning of the match I wasn’t thinking about it,” Alcaraz declared. “Once I think I’m in control of the match, 5-1 at the end of set four I was thinking about that (smiling). I thought for maybe I was in time. It wasn’t.
“After I finished, I did everything in a rush just to be in time to watch a bit of Spain.”
The 21-year-old is two matches away from winning the unique Roland Garros- Wimbledon double at the same time in the same year, fought back from a set-down to defeat Paul, who is ranked No. 13 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Alcaraz has surrendered four sets thus far in this fortnight. He took four sets to beat 16th seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the fourth round. He also took five sets to beat American Frances Tiafoe in the third round.
In his most last Roland Garros finals title race the 14-time tour level titlist only dropped one set to make it to the semi-finals. Last year, at Wimbledon the Spaniard lost just two sets on similar stages. The pressure of winning this week is proving to make Alcaraz more resilient.
“Well we’re trying to come up with solutions. It’s going to be a challenge to perform at the highest level every single time,” Alcaraz said. “I am aware that there will be certain matches where won’t be where I can play my best tennis, even though I’m required to beat it.
“I believe that given the things the three big players did throughout their careers, they’re not going to be playing theirtop tennis. However they will be able to find their good tennis to be able to win these matches. This is what I’m thinking.
“When I’m not playing my best tennis, I’m going to try to find solutions just to be a bit better, just to beat the opponent.”
Alcaraz is next in line for an rematch of the semi-final of last year’s against Daniil Medvedev who defeated the top seeds and the World No. 1. Jannik Sinner by five sets on Tuesday. The three-time major winner lost only nine sets against Medvedev at the time of this match, however this year’s Nitto ATP Finals champion continues to increase in confidence playing grass.
Alcaraz expects a tough match.
“The most difficult part about playing Daniil or perhaps the best thing about him is that he is able to touch every ball. In a way, he’s the wall. The ball is bounced back every time” Alcaraz said.
“I believe I could hit a shot that is amazing and the ball is bound rebound back. It’s difficult to think about this.”
Tuesday was a good day for Alcaraz the team, with Spain beating France by 2-1 to make it to the final.