An elated Carlos Alcaraz says he wants to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
The Spaniard defeated seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) on Sunday to win his second consecutive Wimbledon title at the age of 22 Before his birthday, his Grand Slam total reached four.
“Obviously, it’s a very good start to my career, but I have to keep going,” said Alcaraz, the sixth man in the Open era to win the French Open and Wimbledon double in the same year. He joins Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal (twice), Bjorn Borg (three times) and Rod Laver on the list.
“Even thinking about being the French Open champion and the Wimbledon champion in the same year is a great feeling, and very few players have done that before,” Alcaraz said. “It’s incredible. I try to realize that I won Wimbledon twice and try to feel the same as last year.
“I have to keep blazing my trail. At the end of my career I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That’s my main goal. That’s my dream now. If I were 21 Having won four Grand Slams, that’s okay. I really want to keep winning and finish my career with a lot of people.
Alcaraz said he has not yet set a goal for how many Grand Slams he thinks he can win. “I don’t know what my limit is. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to keep enjoying my moments and keep dreaming. So let’s see at the end of my career it will be 25, 30, 15, 4. I don’t know. What I’m saying is, I want to keep enjoying it and let’s see what the future brings for me.
The two-time champion said he took advantage of Djokovic’s sub-par performance in the first two sets. “Obviously it was a great match for me. Obviously Novak didn’t play his best in the first two sets and made a lot of mistakes. I took full advantage of that.
Alcaraz has now won two of the three Grand Slam men’s singles titles this year, with world number one Jannik Sinner winning the other, and the Spaniard says he enjoys the competition. “I think with Janik, who is 21, 22, 23 years old, at the top of the rankings, winning Grand Slams, I think it’s good to have new faces in tennis winning big things and competing for big events.
“I’m really happy to have him there. As I’ve said many times, we have a lot of competition and young players are struggling with these things. I think it’s great for the sport, for tennis, and for the players. Said it was great.
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Alcaraz said there is still room for improvement. “I think I have to keep improving everything. My forehand, on that level I think it can be better. It should be better every year.
“I think my game in general can improve and respond to situations. I just can’t stop. I have to keep growing and keep improving.
