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New Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz admitted that before Sunday’s match, he thought “I can’t beat” Novak Djokovic.
Those thoughts might have intensified early in the match-up when he went a set down, but ultimately the world No. 1 rallied and won over the course of the following four sets, in a match that took more than four hours to complete.
At the end of it, Alcaraz had his first Grand Slam of 2023, and the second of his career after last year’s US Open.
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Speaking at his post-match press conference, Alcaraz confessed to proving himself wrong.
He said that he had learned that, “I’m really capable of doing the things that I did today.
“Probably before this match, I thought that I wasn’t ready to beat Djokovic in five sets, an epic match like this. Stay good physically or good mentally about five hours against a legend, probably I learned today about myself today.”
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He added: “Yeah, I mean, before this match, I thought I can’t beat Novak. That’s obvious. But after this epic match, let’s say, yeah, I think differently about Novak in the way that probably in other tournaments, in other Grand Slams, I will remember this moment.
“I will think that, well, I’m ready to play five sets against him, good rallies, good sets, really long, long matches, and stay there physically, mentally, in tennis, in general.
“Probably it changes my mind a little bit after this match.”
Djokovic himself was full of praise for conqueror, describing Alcaraz as a combination of himself, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself. I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically the best of all three worlds.
He added: “I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger and Rafa have their own obvious strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces.”
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