LONDON: World number one Carlos Alcaraz is the new big thing in men’s tennis but says Novak Djokovic remains the favourite to retain his Wimbledon title this month.

The 20-year-old Alcaraz won the prestigious Queen’s Club title last week in what was only his third tournament on grass, moving back to the top of the rankings at the same time.

He will also be seeded number one for Wimbledon on his third appearance at the All England Club with some tipping him for the title, but on Sunday he said Djokovic is the man to beat.

“I’m coming here to Wimbledon with a lot of confidence, thinking that I’m able to do a good results here,” the US Open champion told reporters on Sunday.

“But obviously for me the main favourite is Djokovic. He always make everything seem easy. It’s really tough to find some weakness on his game.

“My expectations are high. I think I will be able to put the pressure on the other players, even Djokovic as well. I feel confident and I feel ready to do good things here.”

Alcaraz reached the fourth round last year when he was beaten by Italian youngster Jannik Sinner but has since moved ahead of his peers, taking the tennis world by storm.

He will start against experienced Frenchman Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday and while his early draw looks reasonable, he could face Germany’s Alexander Zverev or Alex de Minaur, the Australian he beat in the Queen’s final, in the fourth round.

Expectation is high for the Spaniard, but he says he is not feeling any pressure and will play his naturally aggressive game from the get go.

While Djokovic’s rivals queue up to hail him as the “greatest” and his achievements as “phenomenal”, the Serb said that he is still “hungry” for Grand Slam glory.

Having wrapped up a men’s record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open, Djokovic now targets an eighth Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer’s mark.

The 36-year-old Serb has won the title at the All England Club on the last four occasions.

A fifth successive victory in two weeks’ time will take him level with Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Slams.

He is also bidding to become just the fourth player in history to win eight or more Wimbl­edon titles after Martina Navratilova (nine), Federer and Helen Wills Moody (eight).

“I still feel hungry for success, for more Grand Slams, more achievements in tennis,” said Djokovic. “As long as there’s that drive, I know that I’m able to compete at the highest level.

“A lot of people are coming up to me and congratulating me, reminding me of the historic success,” said Djokovic.

“It’s very flattering, but at the same time my mind was already directed towards Wimbledon, what’s the next Slam, what’s the next task.”

Djokovic’s career-long rival Murray said winning 23 majors was “phenomenal”.

“What he did at the French Open, it was phenomenal,” said Murray

RYBAKINA FEELS NO PRESSURE

Meanwhile, Elena Ryba­kina comes into Wimbledon as a defending Grand Slam champion for the first time in her career but the world number three said that she does not feel pressure despite a virus hampering her preparation ahead of her title defence.

The unassuming Rybakina was a surprise champion last year and though there were no ranking points on offer, she used it as a stepping stone to make deep runs in tournaments and win titles to climb up the rankings.

She reached the Australian Open final where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka but took her revenge when she captured the Indian Wells crown before lifting the trophy in Rome to rise up to a career-high number three last month.

“Of course, it’s different this year. I won’t say that I feel so much pressure. Of course, people are talking,” Rybakina told reporters on Sunday.

The big-serving Kazakh has only played two matches on grass following her French Open third round withdrawal, however, after a viral illness forced her to lay low.

The third seed plays Shelby Rogers in the first round and the American beat her on grass in their last meeting in 2022.

World number one and French Open champion Iga Swiatek plays on the first day of the championships when she takes on China’s Zhu Lin in the first round.

The Pole said she is better prepared for the grasscourt swing this year after buckling under the pressure of the number one ranking in 2022 in a third-round exit.

“Last year I felt a lot of pressure here because I was number one,” she said.

“I feel like this time… I could just focus on practicing, actually learning a lot. So hopefully I’m going to be able to use that in my matches.”

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2023