Carlos Alcaraz: "I didn’t expect to reach these kinds of situations really fast, I'm really really proud of myself"

Carlos Alcaraz has expressed his delight at winning his second Grand Slam title following his 2023 Wimbledon Championships triumph.

Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz locked horns in the title match at SW19 on Sunday, July 16. The Serbian started strong, taking the first set and threatening to end the ApaSpanaird's challenge even before it began.

Alcaraz, however, did not lose focus and fought back to take the second set in a tie-break, and then took the lead in the match by clinching the third. Four-time defending champion Djokovic won the fourth set to force a decider, where the World No. 1 stood strong to end his veteran opponent's reign at SW19.

Having won the US Open last year, Alcaraz has now become only the fifth man in the Open Era to win multiple Grand Slam titles before the age of 21. He is also just the fourth active male player to win Wimbledon, after Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray.

In his on-court interview after the Wimbledon title win, Alcaraz expressed delight at having achieved success at such a young age. He called it a dream come true and thanked his team for putting him through the paces to ensure he came out on top when it mattered.

“It’s a dream come true for me. It's great to win. But even if I will have lost, I could be really proud of myself. In this amazing run, making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport. For me, it's incredible,” he said.

“As I said this dream come true to be able to play in this stages. I didn’t expect to reach these kinds of situations really fast. I'm really really proud of my myself. Really proud of the team that I have. The work we put every every day to be able to live this dream,” he added.

When asked about how quickly he adapted his playing style to suit grasscourts, Alcaraz cheekily said that he has now fallen in love with the surface. He further stated that the Wimbledon triumph was possible only because of his team and his hard work behind the scenes.

“I fall in love with grass right now. It's amazing, I didn't expect you to play at this level in really short period. I played just four tournaments on glass, I won Queens, I won here, it's a dream come true. I'm really, really happy with the work that we are doing, coming into the grass season and I think I learned really, really fast and I'm really, really proud,” he expressed.

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“You inspired me a lot, I started playing tennis watching you” - Carlos Alcaraz praises Novak Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Carlos Alcaraz did not have the best of starts to the 2023 Wimbledon Championships final. He gave away the first set with ease and looked to be in for a drubbing. However, the Spaniard managed to turn things around spectacularly and win the match in five sets.

When asked for his thought after losing the first set, Alcaraz stated that he told himself to raise his game as he did not want the Center Court crowd to go home disappointed by a tame performance from him.

“After the first set I thought ‘Carlos, increase the level, everyone could be disappointed’,” he said, with a smile.

The 20-year-old then congratulated Novak Djokovic for his performance and his career achievements. He also praised the Serbian for his physical fitness.

“I have to congratulate Novak, amazing playing against him. What can I say about how? He’s unbelievable. You inspired me a lot. I started playing tennis watching you. Since I was born, you know, you [were] already winning tournaments. It’s amazing. Probably you are in a better shape than me. You say that 36 is the new 26 and you made that happen in real. It's amazing,” he stated.