Alcaraz hopes to quickly adapt to grass after Paris disappointment

FILE PHOTO: Carlos Alcaraz celebrates profitable the match level in opposition to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the course of the French Open males’s singles quarterfinal at Roland Garros on June 6, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Carlos Alcaraz makes his Queen’s Club Championships debut this week and the Spaniard is aware of he has a variety of changes to make to his sport if he’s to be a contender on the grasscourt occasion and at Wimbledon subsequent month.

Alcaraz is coming off a disappointing French Open the place the 20-year-old, who had warmed up for the claycourt Grand Slam with titles in Barcelona and Madrid, suffered extreme cramp throughout a 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 semi-final defeat by Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz will probably be taking part in in solely the third grasscourt match of his profession at tour degree this week and he mentioned his follow on the floor had been restricted.

“I arrived in London Saturday morning and I had my first practice on grass,” he mentioned. “I wasn’t able to practice too much at home as we have no grass courts.

“I need to adapt my movement and shots on the grass, but I’m really happy with the practice I have had here.”

Alcaraz, who reached the fourth spherical at Wimbledon final yr earlier than profitable the US Open on the exhausting courts of New York, mentioned how properly he strikes on grass can be key.

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“You need to be more careful than other surfaces,” Alcaraz, who performs Arthur Fils on Tuesday, mentioned. “The most comfortable is going to the net and playing aggressively all the time. For me it’s similar to other surfaces with my style.

“There are a lot of players who slice on grass. I’m not one of them so I have to think about movement. I have to be focused on every movement and shot.

“For me it’s more tiring when you’re moving on grass. It’s totally different, so you have to be really specific.”