Carlos Alcaraz a ‘dangerous’ Wimbledon contender despite missing ATP’s warm-up events, says Alex Corretja
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Updated 23/06/2022 at 12:09 GMT
Carlos Alcaraz is the No. 5 seed at this year's Wimbledon, which will be the 19-year-old's second outing at SW19. After exiting in the second round on debut last year, Alcaraz has reached two Grand Slam quarter-finals - at the US Open and French Open - and is eager to take the next step and challenge Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal for major titles.
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Carlos Alcaraz’s explosiveness makes him a Wimbledon contender despite the lack of warm-up matches on grass, according to Eurosport expert Alex Corretja.
The 19-year-old Spaniard has not played since his French Open quarter-final exit to Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz is, however, expected to play the invitation event at the Hurlingham Club in London this week, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic set to feature as well.
And with Wimbledon starting next week, Corretja believes No. 5 seed Alcaraz is a danger at the upcoming Grand Slam – although he may need a favourable draw to begin with.
“I'm sure he would have loved to play a few more matches,” Corretja told Eurosport.
“I hope it's going to be enough. On grass, it depends also if you play someone that is a specialist or not, but if he has a chance to play a couple of matches on those courts and he gets the confidence back, he's going to be dangerous.
“I mean, Carlos, he's so explosive that anything can happen with him.”
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Alcaraz has been one of the standout players on the ATP Tour this year, winning titles in Rio, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid.
The run on clay saw him emerge as a French Open contender, and though he fell in the last eight, Alcaraz has been tipped to become a future major champion.
Winning Wimbledon this year could be a tall order, especially with Djokovic and Nadal the top two seeds, but Corretja says Alcaraz has the tools to threaten.
Corretja added: “Carlos Alcaraz is very inspiring, he just goes with the flow. He works hard.
"I think it was good for him to stop after Roland-Garros, losing in the quarter-finals against Zverev – such a tough match – and then he took time off.
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“He won Miami, he won Barcelona, he won Madrid, and all of a sudden you are at Roland-Garros like, okay, now you have to win as well.
“But no, he lost in the quarter-finals, and I believe for him it's a learning process. On grass, he can do very well, there's no reason why not because you need to move well, and he does.
“You need to be aggressive. He is aggressive. You need to have a shot where you can hurt the opponent. He's got a great forehand. Nice backhand. He's improving his serve, he's returning well.
“So we will see how he adjusts because he didn't have that many matches on grass and sometimes this is not easy, but he's doing a calendar like the big champions, reserving himself for the important moments and taking time off just to be ready for the majors.”
Alcaraz made the second round in his Wimbledon debut last year, and after subsequently reaching the US Open and French Open, the teenager believes he is ready to go further in Grand Slams.
“I have to improve for the next Grand Slam or next matches. But I would say I'm not far away from reaching a semi-final or being able to win a Grand Slam… I would say I have the level, I have the confidence to win a Grand Slam or reach the semi-finals next time,” he said after his defeat to Zverev.
“I am going try to take the positive things of the match, and of course the bad things that I did, to improve to the next matches or next tournaments or next Grand Slams. I was close to a good match, close to a fifth set, and in the fifth set everything could happen. I'm going to take a lesson from this match.
“This was my second quarter-final at a Grand Slam and I think I fought until the last ball. I hope the next Grand Slam, next quarter-final that I will play at a Grand Slam, I will do better and [improve] my chances to reach the semi-finals.”
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Watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from June 27, as well as the two singles finals live on July 9 and 10.
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