Alcaraz’s sensational response over allegations his father filmed Djokovic’s practice sessions: ‘Probably it is true’

World number one Carlos Alcaraz beat his close friend Holger Rune in the first chapter of what should prove to be a great grand slam rivalry over the next decade. The Spaniard overcame his opponent in straight sets, pushed to a tiebreak in the first but comfortable for the rest of the match. He now prepares to face Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals, with the Russian enjoying his strongest-ever run at Wimbledon.

Before the match against Rune, Alcaraz found himself sliding into slight controversy when his father, Carlos Alcaraz Sr, was seen allegedly recording Novak Djokovic’s practice matches at SW19. This led the Serb to call for more privacy at training in Wimbledon: the practice fields at Aorangi are stacked next to each other with no fences, allowing easy access for spectators and reporters.

A reporter brought up the matter in Alcaraz’s post-match press conference, but the world number one didn’t seem particularly interested in defending his father’s actions or making excuses, but chose to play it off as a harmless incident.

“Oh, probably it is true. My father is a huge fan of tennis,” said Alcaraz of his father. “He doesn’t only watch my matches. I think he get into the club at 11 a.m., get out at 10 p.m., watching matches, watching practice from everyone.”

Alcaraz went on to point out that there wouldn’t be much purpose to recording Djokovic, since access to footage of his matches and practice are both readily available from other tournaments.

“I have a lot of videos from Djokovic on every platform. I think it’s not an advantage for me,” said the 20-year-old.

Alcaraz has enjoyed a successful run at Wimbledon this year, able to outlast the hard-hitting Nicolas Jarry and Matteo Berrettini before handling Rune with ease. The Medvedev match will be a test, with the Russian playing some excellent tennis at the minute, but Alcaraz might still consider himself the favourite to set up a headliner Wimbledon final.

In the other half of the draw, Djokovic has been looking imperious, sweeping aside Andrey Rublev to earn him a spot in the semifinal against Jannik Sinner. Sinner beat Alcaraz in the 2022 tournament, before losing to the Serb in the following round in a five-setter.

Both semifinals promise to be blockbuster encounters, with the final undoubtedly heading towards an incredible clash as well. The men’s semifinals will be played on Friday, July 14.