Roger Federer has left a lifetime impression on tennis lovers, who follow the Wimbledon Championships closely till date. Fondly called the ‘King of Grass’, Federer has produced not just records but magical moments which other players have not replicated as such over the years. However, this time in the Wimbledon 2023 Championships, that moment was to be seen.
World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, who has himself admitted to being a huge Roger Federer enthusiast since childhood, seems to have taken a leaf out of his book. Federer is known for playing a unique shot which involves running towards the ball which is heading on the sidelines and just reaching out to it to play it down the line, around the net. And here is how Alcaraz, in a way, paid tribute to his role model.
Carlos Alcaraz channelises inner Roger Federer in style
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The video, which was posted by the official Wimbledon Championships page on Instagram, shows Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz’s shots simultaneously. Federer’s moment was in the first round of the 2009 Championships, in which he took on Yen-Hsun Lu. The Swiss maestro not only went on to win the match, but also the tournament.
Perhaps, it could be a sign of good luck for Carlos Alcaraz, who played nearly an identical shot of Federer’s this year, in the quarterfinal match on Monday against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini. The shot did draw a warm round of applause on Centre Court and could well be a part of history again, should Alcaraz go on to win the title on Sunday. However, fans on social media in general have responded with statements such as ‘Federer is in a league of his own, he cannot be compared with Alcaraz’ and ‘Does not matter, Djokovic remains the GOAT’.
Roger Federer praised Carlos Alcaraz recently
Carlos Alcaraz’s coach and former World No.1, Juan Carlos Ferrero opined that his pupil is a ‘sick combination’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Responding to that, Federer disagreed to an extent and was quoted as saying to the Daily Express –
“[His coach] said that? That is quite a compliment. It’s a lot to live up to. I think Carlos at his young age, the age that he is right now, he’s doing incredible things.
“I always don’t like to put too much pressure on younger players, especially like, ‘He’s going to do this.’ But he’s the type of player who says, ‘Well, I’m coming to Wimbledon, I’m coming to win. I’m coming to Paris, I’m coming to win.”
Alcaraz is all set to take on World No.6 Holger Rune in a blockbuster quarterfinal on Wednesday on Centre Court, scheduled for 9.45 AM EST.
