“I will always put him on the list of favorites” Alcaraz names Djokovic among top-contenders for Wimbledon title

Carlos Alcaraz places Novak Djokovic as one of the favorites for the Wimbledon title. The defending champion arrives at Wimbledon after a disappointing run at the Queen’s Club Championships, where he lost in the round of 16 to Jack Draper 6-7(3), 3-6.

The Spanish tennis player has spent the last week training at the All England Club to arrive in the best possible condition for his debut on Monday against Mark Lajal on Center Court. The 3-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged that he feels in good shape after the defeat at Queen’s and hopes to defend his title at SW19.

After the loss at Queen’s to the surprising Draper, Alcaraz took the following days to prepare for his next appearance at Wimbledon. The world No. 3 commented from the All England Club that he already feels more adapted to the grass thanks to his work over the past weeks: “I feel good. After Queen’s, I’ve had days to adapt my game to the grass. The next day, I started practicing my movements, my shots, I’ve trained with good players. I think I’m ready to start."

"I always say that this Wimbledon is more special because I’m defending the title and I hope it repeats. It was last year, when I won at Queen’s, that I realized I could play well on grass,” the former world No. 1 said. “I want to put my name on the short list of winners of Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year,” Alcaraz added.

The recent French Open champion addressed the difficulty of changing surfaces and having to adapt to grass in such a short time: “We try not to change our game. But the movement changes a lot because I slide on clay and here I don’t dare. You have to play lower, not get up, not slip…”

Alcaraz also commented that he sees Novak Djokovic as one of the favorites, despite the Serbian arriving just three weeks after undergoing knee surgery, significantly shortening his recovery period to play again at SW19: “I will always put him on the list of favorites,” Alcaraz said. “I was surprised on one hand that he’s here, but on the other, no, because we all know how he takes care of himself, his diet, his rest. I told him the other day that what he does is superhuman. In two and a half weeks, he’s already playing sets at a very high level. He has already shown that he recovers very quickly.”