The world no. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has stated that facing Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final would be even better than reaching the final itself.
The Spaniard defeated world no. 28 Nicolas Jerry 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a spectacular game on Saturday and progressed to the Round of 16 stage of the tournament.
Alcaraz and Djokovic will face each other in the mega event’s final should they win their remaining matches in the tournament.
“It would be amazing for me play a final here in Wimbledon. Even better if is against Novak obviously. But there’s a lot of great players playing here on grass, that feel really, really comfortable on grass,” said the Spaniard.
“I have to be really, really focus until the final. It’s a lot of matches ahead. I can’t relax. I have to play my best in every match. Let’s see if I reach the final or not (smiling).”
The 20-year-old tennis star also talked about his experience on Centre Court for the second time.
“Well, a little bit at the beginning. But the experience that I had last year help me a lot to manage the nerves better than the last year. Of course, the round is different. Playing the fourth round against [Jannik] Sinner – in second round, it was different. This time I [was] enjoying. I enjoyed a lot,” said the 20-year-old.
“Yeah, I mean, I feel that. Of course, is really special to have my first win on Centre Court here in Wimbledon. A really beautiful court. Of course, I really wanted to have my first one. I feel that I belong in that court. I feel like I’m ready to play more matches, to play more great matches on that court.”
The two powerhouses last faced one another in the semi-final of the French Open 2023 where the Spaniard was handed a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 defeat by the Serb.
While this is Alcaraz’s third appearance at Wimbledon, with reaching the second and fourth rounds in 2021 and 2022 respectively, Djokovic is already a seven-time Wimbledon champion and is yet to lose a single game at the tournament since 2017.
The Serb — who just secured his record 23rd Grand Slam title last month in Paris — is looking forward to increasing his tally to 24 by winning Wimbledon.