ATP Queen’s: Carlos Alcaraz Makes Bizarre Admission on How Grass Takes His On-Court Frustrations Away

Carlos Alcaraz is back with his quest for glory in the grass-courts season! Fresh off his major clay court victory in Paris, the Spaniard is now switching his direction to London’s lush green courts. The three Grand Slam champion is preparing to beat Jack Draper in Round 16 of the Queen’s Club Championships event. As fans’ expectation to see him add another title to his bag rises, Alcaraz reveals how his perspective on grass is a bit different from that on clay.

After his comfortable victory in the first round against Francisco Cerundolo (6-1, 7-5), Carlos Alcaraz appeared for an on-court interview with the Tennis Channel. A short clip of that interview is released on their official YouTube channel. During the mid-segment of the video, the interviewer asked him, “Do you think your personality comes through differently on the grass court? Do you think your personality changes in the way you play on the surface?”

The Roland Garros Champion responded, “I think so. I think I don’t complain, let’s say as much as other surfaces you know. It is kind of like I understand very well what happened on the grass, what happened in the matches. As I said, my style switches very well, it’s kind of really aggressively going to the net. And of course, I am going to lose a lot of points playing on that style. But I love it so that’s why my mind changed a little bit yes.”

Unlike clay courts, Carlos Alcaraz’s record on grass has been comparatively more impressive. During the last couple of years, Alcaraz won not only his first Wimbledon (2023) title but also the U.S. Open (2022). This year, he conquered his dreams in Paris, winning his first title on clay as well. However, the journey wasn’t smooth. As he mentioned, his complaints on clay have turned heads in the tennis world. 

Even during the final match against Alexander Zverev in Paris, he didn’t hesitate to address the fact, “This is unbelievable.It’s not a clay court, it’s a hard court. No clay there,” to the umpire. However, defying all odds, he emerged victorious by winning three of the five sets played against Zverev. Now, the 2023 Queen’s Club Championships winner is back with new vigor to play on his “comfortable” surface!

Carlos Alcaraz chooses “hard courts” over clay courts

The 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest male teenager (19 years) in the Open Era to win the U.S. Open believes, “The best players in the world had success on every surface.” However, every player has his own bias in this regard. The World No. 2  player is also not an exception. He further added, “I grew up playing on clay but I feel more comfortable playing on hard courts. But I think my game suits the clay courts very well. But I just wanted to be a good player on every surface.”

The 14 ATP title winner is moving forward with his dream of becoming “one of the best players in the world.” When it comes to playing on different surfaces, Carlos Alcaraz has already broken the record of being the youngest man to complete the career Surface Slam. Therefore, one thing is clear. Rather than complaining, he is the one to embrace the unique challenges of every surface that he plays on.