In Wimbledon 2023, two players have been dominating the field, crushing opponent after opponent. One of them is the SuperNovak, Novak Djokovic in a record-making streak. The other is the world number 1, Carlos Alcaraz with exceptional tennis brilliance that turned many heads. At just 20 years old, he has very quickly become a high-level player with adaptability and control on pretty much all surfaces.
Carlos Alcaraz is often touted as the new-age Spaniard who has been inching further and further to take over the realm of tennis. At 20 years old, he has established a dominance that the world of tennis hasn’t witnessed in a long while. Having already made a few of the greatest players stumble on the court, this youngster seems to be on a track to something huge.
Carlos Alcaraz reveals how he controls nerves at Wimbledon
Carlitos went up against his childhood friend, Holger Rune in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. To go up against a person he grew up with in the prestigious Wimbledon Center Court had brought up a lot of nerves for the Spaniard. The Danish player, Holger Rune was also no slouch this season. The fellow 20-year-old has worked his way up from being ranked 103 in 2022 to world number 6 this July.
In their quarterfinals match, the first set looked quite nerve-wracking for both players. The back and forth between the 20-year-old stunners led to a tiebreaker. After taking the winning point in the first set, Charly was seen to let out a thunderous roar!
“It helped me a lot, that huge scream after the first set to put out all the nerves and start to enjoy the moment, to enjoy the match. Smiling for me, as I said a few times, is the key of everything,” Carlos says in the press conference after.
The scream-and-smile technique was the switch that seemed to have turned around Charly’s confidence in this match and the Spaniard went on to win the quarterfinals (7-6, 6-4, 6-4). He is set for his first semi-finals in Wimbledon against the Russian, Daniil Medvedev.
Gary Lineker compares Alcaraz to Ronaldo and Messi
Carlos has not only turned the heads of tennis legends but also former professional footballer, Gary Lineker. This famous football forward shared a tweet comparing the young Carlos Alcaraz to the football legends. He writes, “the power and pace of a Ronaldo, mixed with the deftness of touch and feel of a Messi, but with a racket.”
The Spaniard is known to beautifully construct points with his quick movements and poised yet deadly net points. So, Gary’s appraisal has been welcomed as rather accurate.
What a talent, @carlosalcaraz is. He looks and moves like a footballer, with the power and pace of a Ronaldo, mixed with the deftness of touch and feel of a Messi, but with a racket.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 12, 2023
What are your thoughts on Carlitos’ ‘scream and smile’ technique to control his tension? Do you think Medvedev will be giving this youngster a hard time in the upcoming semi-finals? Let us know in the comments below!
