At Wimbledon,
After having sent the 36-year-old Frenchman Jérémy Chardy (6-0, 6-2, 7-5) into retirement without trembling, the world number one has mastered without too much fear, either, the qualified tricolor Alexandre Müller (6 -4, 7-6, 6-3) in 2 hours 33. Under the newfound sun and in the swirling wind of the Center Court, the Alcaraz tornado provided the essentials while evolving on alternating current (32 winning points but also 41 unforced errors). But it was enough to tame his tricolor opponent who discovered the Center Court. “I have no regrets, blows the player from the qualifications. On break points in my favor, he served well. I made my match. I think I was far from ridiculous. There was a game. I knew how to hold my service games. The grass seemed faster to me than on the other courts.
And to continue: “I had a good match against the world number 1 and I tried to make the most of evolving on this legendary court. I don’t know if I will ever play it again. The entrance to the court is beautiful. Everything is classy and quiet. There is gold everywhere. You feel the weight of the tournament’s history when you step onto the court. The atmosphere is very British. It’s different from Roland-Garros.” The 84th in the world was in any case impressed by the 20-year-old phenomenon, whom he described as a “monster” and “idol” before the match: “On the short game, he is more comfortable and smarter than me. And there’s his hitting quality. He puts on a crazy intensity and you can find yourself three to four meters from the ball. He feels the game so well. He reminds us that tennis is above all a game. He pushes us back so much that he then has space to land his drop shots.