"Carlos Alcaraz could beat anybody but beating Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final will be his toughest match" - Boris Becker
Boris Becker has shared his thoughts on the daunting task that awaits Carlos Alcaraz should he come up against Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
The highly anticipated clash between Alcaraz and Djokovic looms on the horizon as both players inch closer to the final of the grasscourt Major. Djokovic, the four-time defending champion, defeated Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 to secure his spot in the semifinals. The Serb will take on Jannik Sinner in a rematch of last year's quarterfinal clash on Friday, July 14.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz is set to face Holger Rune in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Should the World No. 1 emerge victorious, he will take on the winner of the match between Daniil Medvedev and Christopher Eubanks in the semifinal.
In a Q&A session on social media, Boris Becker was asked about the possibility of Alcaraz defeating Djokovic.
The German tennis legend replied that while the Spaniard possessed the ability to beat any opponent, defeating Djokovic in the Wimbledon final would be his toughest challenge yet.
"Alcaraz could beat anybody at any time but beating Djokovic in the Wimbledon final will be his toughest match," Becker wrote on Instagram.
"I'm really excited" - Carlos Alcaraz looks ahead to Wimbledon QF against Holger Rune
Looking ahead to his quarterfinal against Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz expressed his anticipation for the much-awaited clash. The World No. 1 mentioned their history of competing alongside each other since they were 12 years old.
"Yeah, I'm really excited about this match. We shared a lot of great moments. We played together since we were 12 years old. We've not texted each other, but obviously we know really well each other. Yeah, I'm really excited about it. I think he's the same," he said in his post-match press conference.
Upon learning that Rune would opt to take his forehand dropshot if he could, the Spaniard revealed that he would go for the Dane's backhand as the weapon to steal.
"The backhand. I'm going to say that. If I have to take some weapon from him, I'm going to say the backhand. I'm not saying that my backhand is bad, no. I think he has a great backhand. Yeah, I'm going to take that," he said.
Alcaraz and Rune's clash will mark the first-ever Wimbledon quarterfinal between two players under the age of 21 in the Open Era. The pair have split the results of their two previous meetings on the tour.