Carlos Alcaraz stands at the cusp of all-time greatness as he aims to defend his Wimbledon title this year. Should Alcaraz successfully do so, he will emulate German legend Boris Becker by becoming the second men’s singles player in 39 years to have back-to-back titles in his name before turning 22.
Becker won his first Wimbledon title back in 1985 when he was just 17 years old. It was his first-ever Grand Slam title. Incredibly enough, he defended his title in 1986. This achievement is one reason why he is till date revered in tennis, since no other legend captivated Wimbledon at that age.
While Carlos Alcaraz will not match the age at which Boris Becker achieved that feat, this is an opportunity for the Spaniard to grab as it doesn’t come by very frequently. With Novak Djokovic coming off of a knee injury, and Jannik Sinner still not at his very best potential on grass, this could very well be a huge chance for Alcaraz to win and create history.
While many in the media and the tennis community have labelled Alcaraz as the ‘Prince of Clay’, he could earn that sobriquet for himself on grass too. Spanish players have historically found it difficult to compete on the surface, which is why before Nadal, only Manuel Santana was considered a champion player who was versatile.
What Does Winning Wimbledon Mean for Carlos Alcaraz
As the 2024 edition has just begun, Wimbledon shared a clip of Alcaraz. In it, Alcaraz is holding the trophy he is defending this year as he was in a car being driven to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. He talked about the importance of the title to him.
“My dream has always been being in this situation, winning these kind of tournaments, winning Wimbledon of course. I think it’s gonna be the same feeling the dreams of everybody. Everybody has great dreams to be football player, astronaut, whatever.
“When they get to the dream, I think it’s gonna be the same feeling. So, all I can say right now is, I see the trophy, a smile on my face… all the hard work that I put every day since I start playing tennis. It is a really great feeling.
“I’m living my best life, I’m living my dream. That’s all I think and that’s all I feel. Yeah, when I see the trophy, when I lift this trophy, my dream come true,” Alcaraz was quoted as saying in the interview.
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Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his Wimbledon 2024 campaign by defeating Mark Lajal in the first round, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-2. He has now advanced to the second round, where he will take on Aleksandar Vukic.
