Alcaraz warns of Centre Court pressure ahead of Wimbledon semi-final vs Medvedev: ‘I know it wasn’t easy for Rune’

Carlos Alcaraz’s sensational rise continues as he enters his third consecutive grand slam semifinal, becoming increasingly more consistent and dangerous across surfaces. His biggest challenge at this year’s Wimbledon is up next, in the form of world number three Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev has earned a reputation as one of the most difficult opponents on tour, simply impossible to hit through. Even for a player of Alcaraz’s power and accuracy, the Russian will prove to be a challenge.

However, Alcaraz believes he might have a slight advantage over Medvedev in their encounter because of an important aspect of the match — the fact that they are playing on Centre Court, where Medvedev hasn’t touched foot all tournament.

Alcaraz spoke about the difference between playing on Centre Court and any other court in the world, and how that provides a different challenge of its own. In his opinion, the stage made a difference in his victory over Holger Rune, who he claimed he didn’t expect to beat with as much ease in their quarterfinal encounter.

“I knew that for him it was not easy to play a quarter-final against me on the Centre Court. It was his first time there so I expected that. The aura that you live with on Centre Court is different than the other ones,” said the Spaniard of his match against his close friend.

“I can only talk with my limited experience, but for me the first time playing on Centre Court was really tough to deal with the nerves about playing in this beautiful court. I hope Daniil will feel the same. But every player is different and I don’t know how he’s going to feel about playing Centre Court,” said the Spaniard.

Alcaraz has had his share of time on Centre Court this tournament, as world number one and in high-intensity matches against 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini and then Rune. However, Medvedev has largely had to play on Court No. 1, perhaps due to the strained relationship Russian players have with the crowds at the tournament.

“Let’s see how it is on Centre Court because so far I have been playing only on No. 1 Court,” Medvedev said about his own feelings regarding playing at the main show-court at Wimbledon. Earlier, the Russian had joked about how he was doing well at this tournament because he got to play on that court, which was a lucky charm for him.

Alcaraz and Medvedev are both US Open champions, but will be seeking to add another feather to their cap. This would be Alcaraz’s second grand slam final appearance, whereas Medvedev been to 4 finals in his career.