"He has a quality of shot that hurts you": Daniil Medvedev's coach reveals plan to stop Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon semifinal

Gilles Cervara, the coach of Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev, has revealed the plan to stop world number three Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal of Wimbledon 2024. The third Grand Slam of the year is moving towards its conclusion, and the remaining players are giving their all to secure the ultimate prize.

Medvedev is one of the four semifinalists in the men’s singles category. He defeated the current world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinal of the mega-event in a five-set thriller with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3. That win set up a mouthwatering semifinal clash against Spain’s young tennis sensation, who cemented his spot in the last four after beating America’s Tommy Paul with a score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Cervara, the Russian tennis star's coach, was recently quoted in a report revealing plans to stop the three-time Grand Slam winner. The 43-year-old stated that the camp understands the value of putting Alcaraz in a zone where he starts having ‘doubts’ because only then can he make mistakes.

“Alcaraz is an incredible player, he has a quality of shot that hurts you,” he said. “We have to be able to contain it, find strategies to stop him. What's troubling is the speed of his shot. From the baseline, he is able to press the button and send a shot that puts you ten metres back even though you had started the rally quite well. You have to succeed through play or something else to bring Alcaraz into a zone where he can doubt. When he doubts, he can get emotional and start making mistakes.”

Going into the semifinal, Medvedev will be relatively confident as he defeated Alcaraz in the semifinal of the US Open in 2023 with a score of 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Overall, it will be the seventh meeting between the two. In the previous six meetings, Alcaraz had a clear advantage with four wins and suffered two defeats.