By SABC Sport
23rd June 2023
No less than ten singles titles in two years aided Alcaraz's meteoric rise to the upper echelons of men's tennis. However, the Spaniard is still seeking his first grass-court title. Even in his seven titles on the ATP Challenger and ITF Future circuits weren't won on grass.
Of course, it's surely a matter of time before the 20-year-old rectifies the situation.
As confident as he is in his own ability, Alcaraz is not shy to emulate the greats that came before him. The young pretender has identified eight-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer and former world number one Andy Murray as some of the best to do it on the green stuff.
"I want to look up to the best players on grass and movers," he told atptour.com this week.
"On grass, Roger and Andy for me are the best players that are moving great on grass. So I want to be the same, like them.
"Moving on grass, as I said a few times, for me is the key of everything on grass. It's the key if you are playing good or not, You have to be more focused on the footwork here. I can't slide as I do on clay or on hard court, so you have to know that and, practising from that part, you have to adapt your moves or your hit on grass."
But why not emulate the indomitable Novak Djokovic?
"I'm not talking about Djokovic because Djokovic slides like [on a] clay court," said Alcaraz of the seven-time Wimbledon winner.
"[That is] not my case, but I try to put similar stuff in my game that Roger and Andy does on grass."
Alcaraz has got his Wimbledon preparation off to a good start at the Queen's Club this week, where he's reached his first grasscourt quarterfinal after two victories.
"I think I'm ready to do a good result here on grass," he said the top seed after his straight-set win over Jiri Lehecka on Thursday.
"Playing my first quarterfinal here, I'm going to enjoy it of course. It's a really beautiful place to play, so I'm enjoying every single second here and of course I will go into the next round with a lot of confidence and I will go for it."
Alcaraz faces the forgotten Grigor Dimitrov in London on Friday evening.