After easily defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime to get to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz gave an extremely assured speech about taking home the gold.
With the manner he has been playing, is it really surprising that the Spaniard has been acting more confidently in recent weeks? For the past two months, he has been by far the greatest player in the world. He won the Roland Garros because no other player performed anywhere near his level. It’s also the reason he won Wimbledon with such ease; his victory over Novak Djokovic in the championship match was the highlight of his run. His exploits in Paris have also been exceptional; in the last few games, he shown that it is definitely possible to defeat some of the top players with ease.
It’s expected of him to be so confident before the final after performances like that and his overall self-assurance, since he has demonstrated in the past that he is not afraid to display his immense confidence.
“I’m going to try to do the things I’ve been doing, nothing more, nothing less. In the end, it’s a final, it’s a very important moment in my life and my career, and for all Spaniards as well. We’re going to try not to think about how important it is, but to think that it’s just another match.”
“Obviously, our goal at the beginning of the week and our goal at the beginning of the year was to get gold, not just a medal, but gold: we’ve got the medal guaranteed, so we’re going to try to enjoy this final, because it’s going to be a very nice moment for many people, for my team, for my family, for me in my life, so we’re going to try to go for it.”
The Spaniard made a vow to fulfill his pledge to the Spanish fans following his semifinal victory over Auger-Aliassime. He knows that many Spanish fans would be watching his final match.
“They should prepare themselves for the show I’m going to give them (laughs). I don’t know, I just hope they’re cheering me on, I’m very grateful to the people in the stadium who have come here to Paris to cheer me on, they are a very important support for me in this tournament.”
“I thank the people at home, who are very many Spanish people, for their support. They should be on television, cheering me on at every point, with me: I’m going to give them what they want, which is gold.”
Alcaraz will undoubtedly face a difficult opponent in Djokovic because the Serbian has previously performed at a very high level in Paris. A few things are working against him, including as the knee problem that erupted against Stefanos Tsitsipas once more.
Alcaraz will be in a very difficult situation if the knee problem continues to bother him. His prospects of winning will be greatly diminished if he does not play to the best of his abilities. Even then, it may not be enough to overcome Alcaraz. Many things will play a role, one of which being Alcaraz’s comfort level. In the end, he needs to support his statements with his on-court performance.
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