Spain’s top-ranked player, Carlos Alcaraz, has expressed humility despite a strong start to his Wimbledon journey with a convincing win.
The 20-year-old, who secured the US Open championship, downplayed his status as the best player of his generation. Alcaraz’s ambition is to become the third youngest male player to clinch the Wimbledon singles title.
In a remarkable performance, he defeated veteran Jeremy Chardy with an impressive score of 6-0, 6-2, 7-5.
“There are a lot of great players in my age there right now – we are going to share great moments,” said Alcaraz.
On a rain-affected second day at Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz’s match stood out among the few that were completed. Due to the inclement weather, play was halted on the outside courts after midday, leaving only Centre Court and Court One, equipped with roofs, to host matches.
However, Alcaraz made the most of his opportunity, delivering an impressive performance against 36-year-old Jeremy Chardy, who played his final competitive singles match. Alcaraz displayed his dominance by conceding only seven games and wrapping up the victory in under two hours.
Despite his recent triumph at the US Open and reaching the French Open semifinals, where he faced the formidable Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz humbly addressed the question of being considered Djokovic’s successor.
Instead, he acknowledged the talents of 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner and 20-year-old Dane Holger Rune, currently ranked eighth and sixth in the world, respectively, as potential successors to the Serbian tennis great.
“I don’t feel I’m the best of my generation,” said Alcaraz.
“Sinner is there. Rune, as well. They are playing a great level.
“It’s 1-0 head-to-head against Rune, he’s up on me right now and I’ve had great matches with Jannik.”
Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer retired in September and was watching on from the Royal Box on Centre Court, with Alcaraz disappointed he did not see his match on Court One.
“I saw that Roger Federer was here and I was a little bit jealous,” added Alcaraz. “Honestly, I want Roger Federer to watch one of my matches obviously.
“I wish to talk a little bit with him and for me it would be amazing so I hope to see him around more than once.”
Jeremy Chardy, who had previously reached the last 16 in 2014, announced that Wimbledon would mark the end of his singles tournament career. This marked his 14th year participating at Wimbledon, and he had achieved a career-high ranking of 25th in the world.
Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning Queen’s champion, has set his sights on becoming the third youngest male player in the Open Era to secure the Wimbledon singles title.
The two players currently holding those records are Boris Becker, who won the title at the age of 17 in 1985, and Bjorn Borg, who triumphed at 20 years old in 1976.
Alcaraz’s performance in the first two sets against Chardy was almost flawless. Chardy struggled to handle Alcaraz’s powerful serve and committed several crucial double faults.
The Spaniard dominated, taking the first set in just 22 minutes and breaking Chardy’s serve in the opening game of the second set.
Despite being down two sets, Chardy managed to regain some pride in the third set. He broke Alcaraz’s serve in the sixth game, but the young Spaniard quickly retaliated, leveling the match again.
In the 11th game, Alcaraz broke Chardy’s serve and successfully closed out the match, setting up a second-round encounter with another French player, either Alexandre Muller (ranked 84th in the world) or Arthur Rinderknech (ranked 82nd).