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Carlos Alcaraz has dismissed talk of him being one of the favorites for the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. The Spaniard, who has cemented his place in the world's Top-10 after winning multiple titles this year, admitted that there are quite a few others more suited to playing on grass than him who should be considered favorites.
Alcaraz has not played in an official event since his quarterfinal exit at the 2022 French Open, where he was one of the heavy favorites. The 19-year-old has been nursing an elbow injury, which ruled him out of an expected appearance at the Queen's Club Championships last week. However, he finally played a match on grass at an exhibition event at the Hurlingham Club on Thursday.
Speaking during a media interaction in London, Alcaraz spoke about his chances at Wimbledon.
"The truth is that I don't mind being in the spotlight, I don't take it as pressure, but I've seen that they take me as one of the favorites for Wimbledon, but I don't see it that way at all," Carlos Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz believes the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Matteo Berrettini are much better players on grass compared to him.
"There are many players who play better on grass than me. Djokovic, Rafa, Berrettini, they are playing incredible on grass. We are going to try to gain experience on this surface," he said further.
The Spaniard has also opened up on his time out due to injury over the last few weeks. The fifth seed at Wimbledon landed in London with a lot of uncertainty regarding his participation in the iconic event. However, there have been many positives for Alcaraz over the last few days, including his match against Frances Tiafoe at the Hurlingham Club, which he lost.
"A week ago I couldn't train at all. I came here with uncertainty as to whether I was going to be able to play normally. These days that I have been able to train here I have felt quite well, zero pain in the elbow and today without any pain in the match with Tiafoe," continued Alcaraz.
"Trying to improve in mobility and in small details" - Carlos Alcaraz on his Wimbledon preparation
The World No. 7 is keen to improve quickly as a grasscourt player. He also shed some light on the aspects of his game that he needs to improve to achieve success on grass, the most important of those being 'mobility.'
"Knowing how to move well on grass is very important. I think it's the key to being able to get good results here. We're trying to improve there, in mobility and in small details that are more important on this surface. Being more aggressive than necessary, trying take advantage of the fact that I go up to the volley well , those things," Carlos Alcaraz explained.
The 19-year-old has been handed a tough draw at Wimbledon. He kickstarts his campaign against Jan-Lennard Struff ahead of a potential second-round clash against Fabio Fognini.
Alcaraz could face big-serving American John Isner or another rising youngster in Jannik Sinner in the 4th round. Six-time champion Novak Djokovic is a potential quarterfinal opponent for the Spaniard.
Carlos Alcaraz is playing in the main draw at Wimbledon for just the second time in his career. He lost to Daniil Medvedev in the second round last year after winning a five-setter against Yasutaka Uchiyama on his Wimbledon debut.
