London, July 5 World no.1 men's tennis player Carlos Alcaraz playfully expressed his "jealousy" that Roger Federer wasn’t watching him as he dominated the first round at Wimbledon and hopes the Swiss legend will watch one of his matches.
Alcaraz completed his first-round victory against Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday at Wimbledon. The Spaniard emerged victorious on No. 1 Court, while Federer, who was in attendance at the All England Club for a special ceremony to celebrate his achievements, was sitting in the Royal Box on Centre Court watching defending champion Elena Rybakina.
"After the match, I was on the phone checking everything I have, all the stories, all the posts. I saw that Roger Federer was here. I was a little bit jealous," Alcaraz said, cracking a smile. "Honestly, I want Roger Federer to watch one of my matches obviously. I wish to talk a little bit with him. For me, that would be amazing. I hope to see him around more than once."
Alcaraz was asked if he feels that he is the heir to The Big Three of Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Despite having reached No. 1 in the ATP Rankings and winning a major last year, the 20-year-old quickly denied the idea.
"I don't feel that I'm the best of my generation. I mean, Jannik Sinner is there. Holger Rune, as well. They are playing a great level. I mean, it's 1-0 head-to-head against Rune. I mean, he's up on me right now. Great matches with Jannik. I don't feel at the time I'm the best in my generation. There are a lot of great players in my age… We are going to share great moments," he said.
Alcaraz has now won six consecutive matches, having claimed his first grass-court title two weeks ago at The Queen’s Championship. The 20-year-old Spaniard has only played 12 tour-level matches on grass in his career and is gaining confidence with every victory.
"Every day you learn something new. Every time that I get out to the court playing, it's better for me. I get more experience that is really, really important in this surface. All I learned today is experience, (getting) more hours on the court," Alcaraz said.
The 20-year-old is simply focused on the task at hand, which is competing at Wimbledon. He will play another Frenchman, Alexandre Muller or Arthur Rinderknech, in the second round.
"To win the tournament. That's the main goal right now for me. I have a lot of confidence right now. The main goal for me this tournament is to win, to win it," Alcaraz said.
--IANS
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