Carlos Alcaraz has revealed he spoke to Alvaro Morata immediately after his Wimbledon triumph to wish the Spain captain good luck.
And the four-time Grand Slam winner then delayed his arrival at the Wimbledon Champions’ Dinner until he was sure their winning goal was onside. Alcaraz, 21, started Spain’s Super Sunday by thrashing Novak Djokovic to retain his Wimbledon title.
And the Real Madrid fan’s attention then quickly switched to the other big final between England and Spain. Speaking before matches at Euro 2024 had become a ritual for Alcaraz and former Chelsea striker Morata.
“I know a few of the footballers – I spoke to them before I started the match,” said the world No.3. “When I finished, one of the first FaceTimes I did was with Alvaro Morata just to wish them the best of luck. I tried to give them all my strength to try to do a good match.”
Alcaraz held a post-match press conference and undertook numerous TV interviews before dressing in a tuxedo before making his way from SW19 to Central London for the traditional final-night dinner while trying to keep up-to-date with the score.
Speaking at the Champions Dinner in an interview with Annabel Croft, the smiling Spaniard said: “It started on the phone, then it switched to the TV at home and then coming here on the ipad so it was kind of mixed. I was feeling the nerves and cheering on the team.
“I didn’t want to get out of the car as they were scoring the goal. Just before getting out of the car, I saw the goal so I thought it was offside. I couldn’t get out of the car until I made sure it was a goal. So it was a few minutes where the nerves were so high.”
Alcaraz needed five sets to see off Djokovic in last year’s final but he won in three sets this year for the loss of only 10 games – the Serb’s second worst defeat in his 37 Grand Slam finals. The worst was against Rafa Nadal at the 2020 French Open.
“I think I did a pretty complete match, a really perfect one,” Alcaraz said. “I don’t know if I’m really proud about losing that 5-4, serving 40-00. To stay strong mentally and don’t give up and then coming back in the tiebreak to play a great tennis, probably that moment I have to be really, really proud about.
“I think I put pretty good shots on the match. I think I’ve played better matches but obviously I think I could manage all the things much better than last year. So I’m really happy with the way that I managed everything before the match, during the match, how I did with the nerves, with the tough situations. I think I played almost the whole match with a lot of calm, I think, very, very well. In that way, I did a perfect match.”
At the age of 21, Alcaraz has already overtaken the number of career Grand Slams won by Andy Murray and only Djokovic (24) and Nadal (22) have more among active players.
The young Spaniard insisted immediately after his win that he should not yet be judged a “champion” like the others because he had not won enough Grand Slams – but refused to put a limit on his eventual total.
“I am 20 back so I don’t know,” Alcaraz laughed. “It’s great to share the court with a legend like Novak. Just trying to learn from him as well, how he plays in some situations. Obviously, he’s 24, one of the players who has won the most grand slams in history. I’m believing and feeling that I’m on the right path so hopefully I will win at least half of them but let’s see what the future brings me.”
Alcaraz plans “two or three days” rest back home in Spain but added: “Then the Olympic games are around the corner so I have to be focused, prepared to switch surface. It’s not gonna be easy but at least a few days at home are gonna be really helpful.
“I’m excited. I mean, playing my first Olympic games, it’s a dream for me. I’m excited about living this experience with all the Spanish athletes and obviously playing the doubles with Rafa is a dream come true for me. I’m going to try my best to get the medals for my country, both golds.”
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