Ever-improving on grass courts, Carlos Alcaraz embraces expectations after comfortable Wimbledon start

WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz speaks with Tennis Channel following his 2023 Wimbledon first round win.

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning US Open champion, is bidding to become one of the youngest men in the Open era to win the Wimbledon title this fortnight, after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg. But on Tuesday, Alcaraz did what any 20-year-old does after a long day’s work: grab his phone and comb through a flurry of notifications.

Alcaraz probably sifted through weather alerts (today’s rain has washed out all play on the outer courts) and tournament updates (royal VIP Princess Kate paid a visit to the All England Club), before one social media post caught his eye: his idol, Roger Federer, feted during his return to Centre Court.

“After the match I was with 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 told press with a grin.

“Honestly, I want Roger Federer to watch one of my matches obviously. I wish to talk a little bit with him. For me it would be amazing.”

The Spaniard has previously said that one of his biggest regrets is never getting the chance to play against Federer before the latter’s retirement in 2022. The admiration goes even deeper than childhood hero worship, with Federer serving as a “source of inspiration” for Alcaraz.

Far from his clay-court and hard-court best, Alcaraz has struggled on grass courts during his short career, with last year’s round of 16 finish being his best result at Wimbledon. But ever eager to improve, last month Alcaraz revealed that he studies videos of Federer’s grass-court matches in order to help demystify the surface.

All that studying is paying off, as Alcaraz claimed his first title on the surface at the Queen’s Club last month. It’s a result that had media and oddsmakers sitting up and taking notice once again, due to Queen’s Club’s reputation for being a king-maker: Several of the tournament’s former champions, including Rafael Nadal (2008), Andy Murray (2013, 2016) and Lleyton Hewitt (2002), went on to triumph at Wimbledon that same year.

“Every day you learn something new. Every time that I get out to the court playing, it's better for me,” Alcaraz says of his improving grass-court game. “I get more experience that is really, really important in that surface.

“All I learn today is experience… More hours on the court.”

In a tournament without Nadal and with Federer back as just a spectator in the Royal Box, Alcaraz has already been tipped as the only player who can knock Australian Open and Roland Garros champion Novak Djokovic off his perch. That’s despite the Spaniard being the one to currently occupy the top seed and world No. 1 spot, a status the pair have been playing tug-of-war with since January.

The pressure of having Djokovic forever on his heels finally boiled over for Alcaraz last month at Roland Garros. The pair’s highly anticipated semifinal clash was derailed when Alcaraz was struck by grueling full-body cramps, which he said were a result of the “tension” of having the Serbian on the other side of the net.

Alcaraz has vowed that things would be different next time they face each other—at Wimbledon, that would only happen in the final.

“I'm sure that experience [played a] really important part on that,” Alcaraz explained. “I think I learned a lot from that match to the next time I'm going to face Novak. It's going to be different for me.

“I'm going to deal the pressure better than I did in the semifinal of French Open.”

There’s still a few matches to go before he can think about another potential meeting with Djokovic, and on Tuesday he got the first one out of the way with little trouble. There were 16 years and 82 days separating him from his opponent Jeremy Chardy—the largest age difference between men’s first-round opponents this year—as well as 541 ranking spots.

Under a closed roof due to the weather, Alcaraz was nearly untouchable during the first two sets on Centre Court, winning over 90% of points behind his first serve and not giving Chardy a look at break point. But when the inevitable letdown came late in the third set, the Frenchman took advantage for a 4-2 lead.

While his opponent, who was playing the final match of his career after a long struggle with injuries, rallied the crowd for one last hurrah, Alcaraz navigated his way out of it for a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory.

Alcaraz has talked about needing to “stay focused all the time” to be able to play well on grass, and for two and a half sets in the first round, he achieved just that.

He’s still waiting to learn his next opponent, as he awaits the result of Alexandre Muller and Arthur Rinderknech rain delayed match, but with the first test out of the way the objective is once again clear. And Alcaraz, as always, is never shy about making his ambitions known:

“To win the tournament. That's the main goal right now for me,” Alcaraz said. “I have a lot of confidence right now. The main goal for me this tournament is to win it.”’