Alcaraz wants to gain speed and aims for the Wimbledon semis | ATP Tour

Wimbledon

Alcaraz wants to gain speed and goes for the Wimbledon semis

The Spaniard faces Tommy Paul and seeks his 12th consecutive victory at the All England

July 08, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz has only one mission at the All England: to defend his title as Wimbledon champion, which he won last year, and his performance so far in SW19 gives the three-time Grand Slam champion hope. Now, on Tuesday he will face the dangerous Tommy Paul, a reliable obstacle to climb to the semi-finals and add new credentials to see if the dream of winning twice in a row on the London grass is possible.

At the moment, Paul is one of the few rivals who has managed to decipher Alcaraz’s game on multiple occasions and against whom he has tied the Lexus ATP Head2Head, with a balance of two victories for each. The last meeting between both occurred in the round of 16 of the last ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati with the Spaniard winning by a tight 7-6(6), 6-7(0), 6-3.

However, after four rounds of play, Alcaraz has shown that his level was up to par when he needed it, despite dropping multiple sets along the way, and his comfort has improved in the first week.

Against the American, who is fresh off lifting his biggest trophy at Queen’s Club, Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protégé will need the consistency of his attacking tennis over the flashes of showmanship he usually brings to the court. Alcaraz, who has a 15-2 record at Wimbledon and is chasing his fourth major title, has played his last two matches at The Championships under the rain-soaked Centre Court roof in west London and is pleased with how he has coped with the change in conditions.

“I’m not used to playing indoors, I’m not going to lie. But I don’t consider myself a bad indoor player. I just think there are a lot of better players than me,” Alcaraz said. “I’d rather play outdoors. But if the weather is nice and the sun is out. Not if it’s windy. But if I have to play outdoors or indoors, I have to adapt my game to the conditions there are,” he predicted before going out on the court against Paul, this time in the second round on Court No. 1.

Paul, meanwhile, has greatly improved his performance on the surface and is currently among the most consistent players on tour, at No. 13 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The 27-year-old, who reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2023, has won his last nine matches and will give Alcaraz a run for his money and a shot in awkward positions.

Did you know…?
Alcaraz is the 5th Spanish tennis player in the Open Era to have reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on two or more occasions, after Rafael Nadal (8 appearances in the Wimbledon quarter-finals), Feliciano López (3), David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2).