Carlos Alcaraz, after clinching his maiden Wimbledon title has admitted that his triumph was for himself and not proving a point on the behalf of next-gen of players on the tour. The Spaniard became the first man to prevail against Djokovic at Wimbledon since 2017 when the Serb walked out of the quarterfinal match against Tomáš Berdych. In a classic final, the 20-year old outlasted the 7-time Wimbledon Champion in a five-set battle that ended, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Responding to a question in his post-match press conference about whether he qualifies his victory against Serb as a change of guard, the newly crowned champ responded: ““Well, I did it for myself, not for tennis generation, honestly. It was great. Beating Novak at his best, in this stage, making history, being the guy to beat him after 10 years unbeaten on that court, is amazing for me.
“It’s something that I will never forget, that’s for sure. As I said, it’s great for the new generation, as well, I think to see me beating him and making them think that they are capable to do it, as well. It’s great for me and I think for the young players, as well.”
This was duo’s second consecutive clash in majors after Roland Garros semifinal which didn’t live up to the hype as nerves got better of the cramping 20-year old and ageless Serb exploited the situation to cement another blockbuster victory on clay.
Comparing the two clashes split between them, the ATP #1 spoke about his mental approach and how he prepared himself differently ahead of the Wimbledon, “I am a different player than the French Open. I grew up a lot since that moment and I learned a lot from that moment.
“I prepared a little bit differently mentally before the match so I could deal with the pressure and the nerves better than I did at the French Open. I think it was the mental part that allowed me to stay there during the five sets.”
The Spaniard described his victory over Novak as ‘the biggest moment’ of his life, while hinting that the situation could change in the future.
“Right now it is the happiest moment of my life. Probably in five years, it will change,” claimed Alcaraz. “I’m 20, I haven’t experienced too many situations like this, so I’m going to enjoy this moment. Making history that I did. Beating Novak and winning Wimbledon is something that I dream about since I started playing tennis. That’s why this is the biggest moment of my life.”
Alcaraz is currently listed for the national duties for Spain at the Hopman Cup this weekend, however, it seems very unlikely following a busy grass court season.