Carlos Alcaraz is on the verge of becoming the first Spanish player to reach back-to-back finals in SW19 since Rafael Nadal in 2011.
After defeating Daniil Medvedev to reach the Wimbledon final for the second year in a row, Alcaraz was jeered by the English crowd on Centre Court when he mentioned Euro 2024.
On Sunday, July 14, Spain’s football team plays England in the Euro 2024 final. This is the same day that Alcaraz will defend his Wimbledon title.
The young Spaniard quickly backtracked and added: ‘I didn’t say Spain is going to win! I’m just saying it’s going to be a really fun day!’
Alcaraz battled past Novak Djokovic in a epic five-set final last year to clinch his first Wimbledon trophy, and has now booked his spot in the 2024 final, after his 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over fifth-seed Medvedev in the last four on Friday.
The 21-year-old, who next faces either Djokovic or 25th-seed Lorenzo Musetti, registered the third major trophy of his career in Paris last month and is now one win away from an incredibly impressive feat known as the Channel Slam.
Often described as the hardest month in tennis, the Channel Slam is when a players successfully wins the French Open on the slow, bouncy clay and then triumphs at Wimbledon on the fast, unbouncy grass in the same calendar year.
Only five male players have ever accomplished it due to the vast variances in surfaces and the short intervals between Grand Slam tournaments.
Alcaraz aims to join the ranks of Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic as the sixth guy on that list.
‘I feel like I’m not new anymore,’ Alcaraz added in his on-court interview when quizzed about his upcoming second Wimbledon final. ‘I know how I’m going to feel before the final. I’ve been in this position. I’ll try to do the things I did well last year. I’ll try to be better and do the things that worked well.’
Widely tipped to become the new dominant force in tennis as the Big Three era of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic finally approaches an end, Alcaraz has already broken numerous records despite his short time near the top of the sport.
Alcaraz became the youngest person in the Open Era to win three major championships on three distinct surfaces with his latest Roland-Garros triumph.
It also saw Alcaraz become the second youngest man to win his first three major finals after he lifted his first Grand Slam trophy at the US Open in 2022.