The key ingredient making Carlos Alcaraz Wimbledon’s next best showman
For all of Alcaraz’s immense power, it is in fact something you cannot coach which could give the world No 1 the edge over the Wimbledon fortnight
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Your support makes all the difference.Poor old Jeremy Chardy. Go out against the best in the business, they said. What match is experience for youthful exuberance, they said. Announcing his retirement from singles ahead of Wimbledon, the 36-year-old journeyman had the sort-of glamour match-up athletes in their final years either love or loathe. Sadly for Chardy, world number one Carlos Alcaraz gave him little choice in the matter.
For a long while, it seemed set to be a demolition job on Court 1. In fact, it seemed genuinely plausible that a triple bagel – which has not been achieved in a main-draw Grand Slam match since 1993 – was on the cards. Alcaraz, tennis’ next star prodigy turn dominant force, wrapped up the first set in just 22 minutes. The Roger Federer fanfare over on Centre Court had not even started.
In the end, much owed to Chardy’s valiant resilience in what proved to be his final set of singles tennis, the world No 1 had to settle for conceding seven games, on his way to a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory. A few hairy moments in the third set may, over the course of the fortnight, prove useful. Not every point will be with a favourable scoreboard in his favour, particularly on grass at what is only Alcaraz’s third Wimbledon.
The Spaniard out of Murcia moves onto face another Frenchman in round two, whether it be Alexandre Muller or Arthur Rinderknech. Crucially, he stole a march on his next opponent, as well as virtually every player on his half of the draw, with rain set to wipe out the majority of matches on Tuesday. Primed and progressed under the safety net of the Court 1 roof, Alcaraz will have his full allotted rest day. Don’t underestimate how vital that may prove.
The world No 1, who has taken the tennis world by storm over the past 12 months with his thrilling US Open victory last year preceding an engrossing run of form on the clay in 2023, was just five years old when Chardy made his main draw debut at SW19 in 2008. Having lived in the UK for eight years with British wife Susan, the Frenchman confirmed over the weekend that this would be the tournament to bow out on. Up against the very top.
Because that is exactly what Alcaraz is. At just 20, he seems untied to the onset of nerves or cautiousness. Everything is done at maximum capacity, from the laser-sharp focus in-between points to the effort into every sprint at full pelt and unrelenting power of his groundstrokes, on both sides. A slap of the forehand here, a free-release of the backhand there.
There’s teeing off – and then there’s Carlos Alcaraz. The power, even for this new generation of hard-hitting ground-strokers in men’s tennis, is another level altogether. So much so that his grunt, when every ball is hit, is distinguishably authentic.
But this is not what makes him the captivating draw to fans around the world. It may well be the foundation to his game, but it is not the difference-maker. This, something you cannot coach, is the process of being unpredictable without being ineffective. It is about exploiting your own impulsiveness to maximum benefit.
It is the drop shot executed so perfectly, so regularly, which sealed a double break in the first set. It’s the behind-the-back flick of the wrist in mid-air – if you haven’t seen the highlight reel from New York last year, go watch on YouTube – when a customary backhand would be more orthodox. It’s the half-volley squash-shot slap to pass his opponent at the net. Even a random serve-and-volley in the third set, though unsuccessful, keeps everyone in the arena on their toes.
It should be said not every shot comes off. But for the showman – a tag Alcaraz may not necessarily want, but nonetheless basks in – the thrill of the spectacle is almost as important as the result. Almost, not quite.
It’d be easy to say this unpredictability was a result of the context of the match. Alcaraz always seemed in complete control, irrefutably dominant in his shot-making and strut around the court. Even when broken in the third set, he broke straight back. But, as we have seen deep in majors recently, the showman does not wilt no matter the occasion.
Alcaraz sealed the match with a pair of aces: one down the T, one out wide. It was a fitting finale encompassing his whole repertoire of dazzling shots. An arsenal of strokes near-on full, even at this early stage of his career. And while Novak Djokovic remains the favourite for the title given his record here, there is no doubt over who the No 1 contender is. And in those tight moments, it may well be Alcaraz’s capricious instincts – his key ingredient – which see him over the line.
This article was originally published on 4 July 2023
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