Fearless Carlos Alcaraz has third Wimbledon title in his sights

Straits Times

13 hours ago

Carlos Alcaraz during practice at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on June 27. PHOTO: REUTERS
Fearless Carlos Alcaraz has third Wimbledon title in his sights
LONDON – Carlos Alcaraz believes conquering his fear factor has given him the confidence to chase a landmark third successive Wimbledon title.
Alcaraz will start his Wimbledon defence against Fabio Fognini on Centre Court on June 30.
The 22-year-old Spaniard is aiming to become just the fifth man to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles in the Open Era, after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz, who has beaten Djokovic in the past two finals at the All England Club, returns to Wimbledon on a career-best 18-match winning streak.
The world No. 2 knows the historic connotations of his title bid over the next fortnight, but he does not want to be distracted by talk of Wimbledon immortality.
'I'm coming here thinking that I really want to win the title. I really want to lift the trophy, not thinking about how many players have won three Wimbledons in a row,' Alcaraz told reporters at the All England Club on June 28.
'I'm just thinking about, 'Okay, I just want to be ready and just want to prepare myself in the best way possible'.
'Obviously, I feel a lot of confidence right now. But I'm just thinking about going forward and starting the tournament.
'Two weeks can be really long in a Grand Slam. I'm not thinking about who I could join if I win three Wimbledons in a row.'
Alcaraz warmed up for Wimbledon by winning the grass-court event at Queen's Club for the second time.
That victory proved the five-time Grand Slam champion was up to speed on grass after his sensational run in the clay-court campaign.
Alcaraz stormed back from two sets down and saved three match points to beat world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in an epic French Open final in June, securing a fifth successive victory over his Italian rival.
He had already won titles on clay in Rome and Monte Carlo, before his Roland Garros triumph.
Alcaraz's last defeat came against Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April and he believes the secret of his blistering run is playing without fear.
'Probably, yeah. When I'm playing without thinking about anything else, just playing or just thinking about the enjoyment. I've got that freedom to play whatever I like,' he said.
'When that happens, I always show my best tennis, my best level. So probably so far I'm feeling the most, let's say, freedom that I've played so far.'
Alcaraz is at his best when he is relaxed mentally and he warmed up for Wimbledon by spending this week playing golf with former champion Andy Murray and dining in central London.
'For me, it's as much important feeling great off the court as on the court. If I'm feeling bad or I'm feeling bored or feeling like I don't want to be in that place off the court, I'm not going to play good,' he said.
'It feels great to be back here in Wimbledon as the defending champion. It is really beautiful thinking about what happened last year.
'Just really excited about to start the tournament. Let's see how I go.'
Sinner's preparations have been less sanguine.
Parting company with two of your team days before Wimbledon might not sound ideal but the top seed has played down any negative impact.
The 23-year-old Italian surprisingly split with Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist respectively, after the Halle tournament and was asked about the situation on June 28.
'Nothing major happened. Nothing big happened. I parted ways not long ago but it's not affecting me. I feel ready to compete. I feel free. I feel me and my team, we are ready to do the best we can,' Sinner, who is bidding to win his first Wimbledon title, told reporters.
'We've reached incredible results in the past with them, so obviously, huge thanks to them. We made some great job, but I decided to do something different.'
Panichi and Badio had been part of Sinner's team since September 2024 and helped him to win the 2025 Australian Open to take his career Grand Slam haul to three, before reaching the French Open final.
Sinner won one match at Halle before losing to Alexander Bublik, but said he was mentally prepared for Wimbledon where he hopes to become the first Italian singles champion.
'Honestly, I feel ready to play. I feel ready. We are practising very well. What happened in the past is in the past already,' said Sinner, who faces fellow Italian Luca Nardi in the first round. AFP, REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.