By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) – World number one Carlos Alcaraz is the new big thing in men’s tennis but says Novak Djokovic remains the favourite to retain his Wimbledon title this month.
The 20-year-old Alcaraz won the prestigious Queen’s Club title last week in what was only his third tournament on grass, moving back to the top of the rankings at the same time.
He will also be seeded number one for Wimbledon on his third appearance at the All England Club with some tipping him for the title, but on Sunday he said Djokovic is the man to beat.
“I’m coming here to Wimbledon with a lot of confidence, thinking that I’m able to do a good results here,” the U.S. Open champion told reporters on Sunday.
“But obviously for me the main favourite is Djokovic. He always make everything seem easy. It’s really tough to find some weakness on his game.
“My expectations are high. I think I will be able to put the pressure on the other players, even Djokovic as well. I feel confident and I feel ready to do good things here.”
Alcaraz reached the fourth round last year when he was beaten by Italian youngster Jannik Sinner but has since moved ahead of his peers, taking the tennis world by storm.
He will start against experienced Frenchman Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday and while his early draw looks reasonable, he could face Germany’s Alexander Zverev or Alex de Minaur, the Australian he beat in the Queen’s final, in the fourth round.
Expectation is high for the Spaniard, but he says he is not feeling any pressure and will play his naturally aggressive game from the get go.
“I know what I have to do. For me it’s to play, play my best, try to win tournaments,” he said.
“I don’t think about being number one too much. I’m trying to put out all that pressure. I always say that I try to play aggressive all the time. I think that’s the most important thing here on grass: to be aggressive, go to the net, try to hit big shots. I’m always trying in every surface.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
