Carlos Alcaraz Raises Tough Wimbledon Condition That Might Also Affect Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz has a great chance of joining an elite club of Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic by claiming three consecutive Wimbledon titles in the Open Era. However, does he care about all these records? But, as shared in a previous interview, Alcaraz doesn’t seem to care about these records, “I’m coming here thinking that, yeah, I really want to win the title. I really want to lift the trophy. Not thinking about how many players have done it, winning three Wimbledons in a row.” While that focus was there in his semifinal performance, something about Wimbledon itself was testing.

With Centre Court temperatures climbing to 31°C (87.8°F), the heat became more than just a background condition—it directly impacted the rhythm of the match. The semi-final was briefly halted when two spectators required medical assistance in the stands during the second set. Taylor Fritz pointed out one of the incidents to officials, and both players waited while staff responded. Fritz noticed one of the incidents and pointed it out to officials, and both players waited while medical staff attended to the fans. The first delay saw Fritz give a water bottle to a ball boy to deliver to the affected fan. The second delay involved both players briefly talking at the net while medical teams attended to the fan. 

Meanwhile, Wimbledon had ramped up its on-site heat response, distributing over 100 chilled towels to players throughout the day as part of its critical heat mitigation efforts, but the players were still not immune. Carlos Alcaraz briefly halted one of Taylor Fritz’s service games in the first set after experiencing discomfort in his right eye. The incident occurred with Fritz serving at 1–3; Alcaraz stepped away and rushed to the chair umpire, who leaned forward to examine the issue. Though the world No. 2 quickly returned to the baseline and resumed play without delay, a trainer was called at the subsequent changeover to assess him further. Despite that, he managed to convert 31 out of 41 serve‑and‑volley points to avoid extended rallies and opened up about the tough match afterwards. 

“It was a really difficult match,” he said. “Even tougher with the conditions. It was really hot again. With the pressure of a semi-final it was not easy. I was just really proud how I stayed calm, thinking clearly.” If a 22-year‑old sporting no apparent injury and quick to recover from a medical interruption can barely escape the heat’s effects, imagine the challenges for Jannik Sinner, till managing an elbow injury that even led him to cancel a Tuesday practice, and Novak Djokovic, who slipped in his quarterfinal and withdrew from Thursday practice ahead of their semi-final. 

After sustaining a right elbow injury during his fourth-round match, Sinner skipped his scheduled Tuesday practice and has visibly restricted his swing on grass. Heat can exacerbate inflammation, stiffen joints, and make prolonged muscle engagement more taxing, especially when contact cooling isn’t possible between shots.

Djokovic’s “nasty” fall in the quarterfinal affected his upper left leg, prompting him to cancel his on-site practice Thursday as he paced recovery while awaiting clarity on discomfort. Under intense sun and hard-court-like grass stances, prolonged endurance in heat could strain injury-prone areas and slow post-fall recovery.

As it stands as of now, Carlos Alcaraz has only one obstacle to overcome before clinching his title for the third time in a row at Wimbledon. Who will be that last hurdle? Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic? Sinner has a 5-4 record against the Serb, but we must not forget that Djokovic is a seven-time champion at Wimbledon. Here’s what he had to say about the upcoming match. 

“This is one of the most exciting matchups we have on tour right now. Djokovic against Jannik. As a huge fan of tennis, I’m gonna try to see it and watch as much as I can,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview. With that, he will also probably note down a few things before facing either of these two in the final on Super Sunday. Do you think Alcaraz can win the title this year? Catch every key moment from the Championships as it happens.