Carlos Alcaraz is in pursuit of becoming the fifth man in the Open Era to win a third consecutive Wimbledon title at this year’s championships.
Alcaraz earned a straight-sets win over Novak Djokovic in last season’s edition of the major to hoist the trophy for a second time on Centre Court.
He had already conquered the Serb in the final the year before to become just the third Spaniard in history to emerge victorious at the All England Club.
In 2023, the then-20-year-old went the distance with Djokovic in a five-set thriller that lasted four hours and 42 minutes.
That year’s triumph marked Alcaraz‘s second Grand Slam title, which he recently reflected on ahead of Wimbledon.
Carlos Alcaraz reveals what he thought about his chances at Wimbledon in 2023
On his way to handing the trophy back before Wimbledon, Alcaraz said: “Honestly, I’m feeling nervous right now holding it [the trophy].
“It gets you back to last year when I lifted it. It feels like it was just yesterday.
“2023 was really unexpected, I didn’t think I was able to win the tournament. I ended up winning the tournament and it gave me a lot of confidence on grass.
“Then going into 2024, it was a great feeling. The last two months for me have been unbelievable, and yeah, the confidence is pretty high.
“So let’s see how it’s going to be at this tournament. Hopefully, I’m going to repeat the same thing as the last two years.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s route to his first Wimbledon title
Alcaraz kicked off his 2023 Wimbledon run with two straight-set victories over Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Alexandre Muller.
He then defeated Nicolas Jarry and picked up a statement win against 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini over four sets.
In the quarter-final, he came up against Holger Rune, whom he swept aside, before doing the same to Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final.
In the championship match, Alcaraz got off to a slow start, losing the first set 6-1, in what looked to be the beginning of the end for the young star.
He fought back, however, winning the next two sets, and ultimately securing the fifth 6-4 to win it all.
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