Carlos Alcaraz Fires ‘Explosive’ Warning To Daniil Medvedev In A Cryptic Message Ahead Of Epic Clash
Carlos Alcaraz is bidding to win his first Wimbledon title this year and has put himself in a strong position after beating Holger Rune in straight sets to secure his place in the semis. Alcaraz will play Daniil Medvedev next and could be set for a meeting with seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in the final. Alcaraz tells Eurosport playing on Centre Court can cause plenty of nerves.
Carlos Alcaraz says he hopes Daniil Medvedev will feel the same nerves he has experienced on Centre Court when they face each other in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Alcaraz has reached the last four at SW19 for the first time in his career after a comfortable straight-sets win over Holger Rune on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old shares a 1-1 head-to-head record with his semi-final opponent Medvedev. The world No. 1 won their last meeting 6-2 6-3 in the Indian Wells final in March.
Medvedev will make his first Centre Court appearance this year when the pair meet on Friday. Medvedev has won all four of his matches this year on Court 1.
Speaking exclusively to Eurosport’s Mats Wilander after his victory over Rune, Alcaraz says the “aura” of Centre Court can cause problems for players.
“I didn’t expect to win 3-0 [against Rune],” the Spaniard said.
“He’s a really tough opponent, I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of great moments.
“We’re going to play a lot of matches as well. I knew that for him it was not easy to play a quarter-final against me in the Centre Court. It was his first time on Centre Court so I expect that but hopefully had a great game.
“The aura that you live on Centre Court is different than the other ones.
“I can only talk with my limited experience, but for me the first time playing on Centre Court was really tough to deal with the nerves about playing in this beautiful court.
“I hope Daniil will feel the same.
“But every player is different and I don’t know how he’s going to feel about playing Centre Court.”
🤝🏻 @holgerrune2003 pic.twitter.com/IFd94YG27w
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) July 12, 2023
A win for Alcaraz could see him play 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the final, who he lost to in the French Open semi-finals in June.
After beating Rune, Alcaraz told reporters at his post-match press conference that it was “probably true” his father, Carlos, has been filming the Serbian train at Wimbledon’s Aorangi Park.
“Oh, probably it is true,” he said.
“My father is a huge fan of tennis. He doesn’t only watch my matches. I think he gets into the club at 11am, gets out at 10pm, watching matches, watching practice from everyone.
“Being able to watch Djokovic in real life, yeah, probably it is true he’s filmed the sessions.”
