Carlos Alcaraz said that he was watching videos Roger Federer and Andy Murray to help him move better on the grass instead of Novak Djokovic. The world No 2 is playing just his third professional tournament on grass and his first on the ATP Tour. And his choice to study up seems to be paying off as Alcaraz is through to his maiden quarter-final on the surface.
Alcaraz booked his spot in the last-eight at Queen’s with a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Jiri Lehecka on Thursday. The cinch Championships is the 20-year-old’s first grass tournament on the tour, as he has played Wimbledon just twice in the past.
Ahead of the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, the world No 2 is trying to brush up on his grass-court game and has turned to Federer and Murray to do so. While the Spaniard has also been watching videos of Djokovic, he admitted that he couldn’t copy the Serb’s movement because his slides were reminiscent of a clay tactic.
“I watch some videos about my opponents first, and then, you know, I have a lot of time to watch videos, to learn from the best players in the world, Andy, Roger, Djokovic,” he explained. “You know, right now we are on grass and I want to, you know, look up to the best players on grass and movers.”
Alcaraz said the retired Swiss star and the two-time Wimbledon champion were at the top of his list when it came to moving on the surface. He continued: “You know, on grass, Roger and Andy for me are the best players that are moving great on grass. So I want to be the same, you know, like them.
“I’m not talking about Djokovic because Djokovic slides like clay court, and not my case, but I try to put similar stuff in my game that Roger and Andy does in grass.” Alcaraz also went into detail about the exact changes he had to make when switching to the grass, as he again said he couldn’t use his clay-court sliding skills like Djokovic did.
“You have to be more focused, you know, on the footwork here. Talking from me, I can’t slide as I do on clay or on hard court, so you have to know that and, you know, practising from that part, you have to adapt your moves or your hit on grass,” he said.
Alcaraz also went straight to the practice court after his 85-minute victory over Lehecka but explained that it wasn’t because he had any issues with his game. “I play great, I’m really happy with my performance, with the way that I played, you know, but I can be better,” he added.
“You know, Samuel told me to do some stuff after the match, some serves, some forehand, you know, just to feel a little bit better. But it doesn’t mean that I’m not happy with the way that I hit the ball or the way that I played today.”
Alcaraz also played a makeshift game of mini golf with his team at the end of the session as they competed to see who could put tennis balls into the net post holes with their rackets.
Explaining the unusual cool-down method, the top seed at Queen’s said: “Well, we play a lot of games when I’m with my team, and mini golf, golf, are one of them. It’s something that turn off my mind a little bit to be happy to enjoy, you know, the time here and, you know, have quality time with my team as well.
“I have to improve a little bit more on golf. I’m not too good. But it’s something that I love to play, love to learn. Yeah, as I say, it’s something that they help me a lot to, you know, to turn off my mind a little bit from tennis.”
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