False modesty is the ultimate refinement of vanity
Jean de la Bruyere
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-He has put on the hat! –we called the journalists in the Media Theatre, the Wimbledon press room, when we saw Carlos Alcaraz (20) come on stage.
It is Wednesday afternoon-night, Alcaraz has just won his quarter-final against Holger Rune and he is wearing a fisherman's hat, a bucket hat calls it the firm that dresses him, fresh, retro air, in the overloaded atmosphere of the All England Tennis Club : the gentlemen wear a jacket and shirt, and tie in many cases; the ladies, flowery dresses and hats.
–This time I have not forgotten the hat, eh? Alcaraz answers.
And laugh.
Always laugh, good thing.
(And it is true, two days before, after knocking down Matteo Berrettini, Alcaraz had broken his promise, the commitment to show off his bucket in every appearance before the media).
Alcaraz always laughs and the tennis community surrenders.
He surrenders to the absolute potential of Murcian talent, the guy who has come to break everything, the seams of conventional tennis and the aesthetic lines of rigid Wimbledon, even the eternal power of the autumnal Big Three, the trio of geniuses who refuse to release the throne, Djokovic through.
– Honestly, yes. I can win this title – Alcaraz ventures.
He ventures into a speech unprecedented in other times, in those times of false modesty and reservations.
– Do you see yourself winning the title even above Djokovic (little joke about it: the Serbian, who awaits Jannik Sinner in the first semifinal, has a string of 33 victories at Wimbledon, and seeks his eighth title in the London countryside, as many as Roger Federer, and his 24th Grand Slam, as many as Margaret Court).
–Djokovic is my main rival. But I have confidence and level. Honestly, yes –insists Alcaraz.
Alcaraz plays something else, he belongs to another era, to the generation of Mbappé, Pogacar and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
These young people believe they are the best and they assure that they are, a round of applause for them because they say what they feel, just like that.
–That my father has been recording a Djokovic training...? My father is a fan of tennis, not just my matches. My father watches tennis from eleven in the morning until ten at night. And I don't think filming an opponent's training is illegal or going to give me any advantage,” he replies when the international press tries to put him on the ropes.
If they ask him about his resources, then Alcaraz answers:
I think I have them.
And if you ask him about his acceleration speed on the track, he doesn't say anything.
For him, his shirt speaks.
At chest height, a turtle wears sunglasses and, below, an inscription states: I'm speed (I'm fast).
Alcaraz rallies in Aorangi Park with Álvaro, his older brother, and sees himself winning Wimbledon over anyone, over Djokovic as well, although he has to checkout first.
And Daniil Medvedev awaits him in the box, today, in the second semifinal of the day (around five in the afternoon, Spanish time).
–Medvedev is very tall and has experience here. What I am going to do is enjoy my first semifinal at Wimbledon. I have confidence in myself.
But don't you feel nervous?
How can I not feel them? But it is my third semifinal of a major and I already have experience in this. I learned a lot from what happened at Roland Garros (the pressure blocked him to the point of causing muscle cramps). We have been looking at what I did wrong then and now, with my team, we are trying a new routine so that it does not repeat itself.
–And Medvedev's best weapon? – we asked him.
– Its competitiveness.
When the same question is thrown at the Russian without a flag, what is Alcaraz's weapon, then Medvedev, the last survivor of the blocked Next Gen, says:
–His maturity, When he was 17 years old, Alcaraz already seemed like a different tennis player to me. We have discussed it with my team. The key is to prevent him from finding his blows. If not, you are in danger. Alcaraz is not like Nadal or Djokovic, who are cooking little by little. He can knock you down with one punch. You have to know how to handle that.
