What's waiting for is Djokovic! "Red Soil Boy" Alkaras can also become "King of Grasslands" Djokovic | Alkaras | Red Soil

Before the start of Wimbledon, Alcaras had long dreamed of meeting Djokovic at the top: "My dream is the final, it would be even better if the opponent is Djokovic." Now, Alcaras' first wish has come true, and his dream of "winning the Wimbledon championship" is just around the corner.

On the early morning of July 15th Beijing time, the men's singles semi-finals at Wimbledon ended their second match. The world's number one and top seed of the tournament, Alcaras, defeated third seed Medvedev 3-0 in straight sets and will successfully meet Djokovic in the final.

Alcaras and Djokovic are the top two seeds of this tournament, with one side being the young world number one and hottest superstar; On one side is the 23 time Grand Slam champion who aims to challenge Wimbledon for five consecutive championships. The semi-final of the men's singles match they played at the French Open a month ago is still vivid in their minds, as both sides reached their limits during the competition.

But just before 2023, Alcaras is not a favorite on the grass court.

The data reveals his strengths and weaknesses: before the start of the 2023 grass season, Alcaras won ten championships in his career, seven on clay and three on hard ground, but not on grass. In addition, Alcaras only participated in Wimbledon matches in 2021 and 2022, with a record of only 4 wins and 2 losses. Therefore, Alcaraz, born in May 2003 and only 20 years old, was deemed by the media and fans to be not good at grass fighting. Even Alcaras himself and his ATP2022 Best Coach, 2003 French Open champion, and former world number one Ferrero believe the same.

But just before this year's Wimbledon, Alcaras won the Queen's Cup in London, his first career grass championship trophy, and surpassed Djokovic to return to world number one. He later became the number one seed of the Wimbledon Open. Alcaraz's remarks about not being good at grass fighting came to an end. Because in the first 11 games of his career on the Alcaras turf, he achieved an impressive record of 9 wins, 2 losses, and 1 championship. When he won the championship on hard ground, red soil, and grass, Alcaras was only 20 years and 1 month old. Federer was 21 years old, Nadal was 22 years old, and Djokovic was 24 years old to achieve this result.

Since the start of the 2023 season, except for his absence from the Australian Open due to injury, Alcaras has been singing his praises all the way: he has performed brilliantly in the Indian Wells Masters, facing the new generation of hard ground experts and hot form Medvedev, and the Spaniards have won a perfect game; He switched to clay tournaments and successfully defended his titles in both his hometown competitions, Barcelona and Madrid Masters, gaining instant popularity; Coming to the Queen's Cup, it was only his first time participating in the tournament and the only grass court tournament he had played except for two Wimbledon tournaments. However, he sang his praises all the way and eventually won another championship.

At a young age, but also humble and eager to learn, Alcaras has a bright future ahead. In the interview, he made no secret of his desire for the grass racing schedule. "I have many weapons on the grass, and my serve has improved a lot. Serving is a very useful weapon for me today, helping me get through many difficult moments." Alcaras said, "This is the direction I have been working hard in the past month, and it is more effective than other skills on the grass." In addition to serving, moving on the grass is also a key area for Alcaras to improve. He said he will also watch videos of several excellent grass players to learn.

"I spent a lot of time watching videos and learning from the best players in the world, such as Murray, Federer, and Djokovic," Alcaras said. "Now we're on the grass, and I want to keep up with those best players. For me, Federer and Murray are the best players who move on the grass, and I want to be like them. But Djokovic can also slide on the grass like he does on clay, and I may not be able to learn yet."

In fact, Alcaras has a balanced forehand and backhand, quick reflexes, fast running, excellent interception skills, and excellent dribbling skills. These are all techniques and tactics suitable for combat on grass and capable of achieving success on grass.

When asked how to view the final in a post match interview, Alcaras said, "Everyone knows that Djokovic is a legendary figure in tennis. Since 2013, he has been invincible on this field, so for me, this will be a very, very difficult game, but what I want to say is: I am ready!"

"To be honest, since I started playing tennis, I have been dreaming of reaching the Wimbledon final and looking forward to meeting Djokovic. This is the final, and now is not the time to be scared, let alone exhausted. I will fight for it. Let's see what happens in the end. I believe I can defeat him here."

The grassland dream of the "King of Red Soil" is right in front of us.