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July 3rd, 20244 mins

Djokovic Blows Past Kopriva Set to Play Fearnley in Second Round

After a successful knee surgery in early June, it does seem that Djokovic is up and running at 100% after he nailed an easy win in his first round against Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva to take his game to the second round of Wimbledon, which will see him play against Jacob Fearnley. Djokovic is yet to win a tournament in the 2024 ATP Tour, and he is definitely chasing bigger glory with Wimbledon now in play.

At the age of 37, Djokovic showed a lot of poise – as if he didn’t even encounter any discomfort after that surgery as he outlasted Kopriva in a one-hour, 58-minute showdown under the Centre Court roof. It was a promising performance from Djokovic, who has improved to a 19-0 record in his first-round matches at SW19.

Djokovic has been one of the fiercest stars to ever grace the grass courts of Wimbledon, and he continued to dominate on the big stage like nothing has changed. The last time Djokovic played at Wimbledon, the Serbian star lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Grand Slam.

Djokovic’s Impressive Start

Novak Djokovic has maintained a perfect record in the first round with his win over Kopriva. It was an easy game for him as he took control of the match right from the start, breaking his opponent’s serve at least twice in each set to tally the big win. The Serbian star wrapped up the match after winning 90% of the points behind his first serve, going 35/39 in that stretch.

“It was very good. I was very pleased with the way I moved on the court today,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview. “Obviously coming into Wimbledon this year, it was a little bit of a different circumstance for me because of the knee. I didn’t know how everything was going to unfold on the court really. Practice sessions are quite different to official match play, so I’m just extremely glad about the way I played and the way I felt today.”

Djokovic is slated to take on Jacob Fearnley in the second round, who is a wild card winner. The Serbian star has also improved to a 19-6 record for the year, and his campaign for his eighth total Wimbledon title remains very much alive, which would tie Roger Federer’s record should he win big.

Focusing on the Game

As said before, Djokovic had a knee surgery prior to the tournament back in June. The Serbian star still moved well as if it wasn’t there. He did wear a sleeve on his right knee to protect it just in case that he would make some unwanted dives to save the ball. He is indeed playing with a carefree style and a controlled one, but one can say that his focus on the game remains unparalleled even with the surgery still fresh.

“I tried to really focus on the game and not really think too much about the knee,” said Djokovic. “Everything I could possibly do, I have done, along with my team, in the past three and a half weeks in order to give myself a chance to be able to play. I think if it was for any other tournament, I probably wouldn’t risk it or rush it as much, but I just love Wimbledon.”

Wimbledon is a chance for Djokovic to make another daring leap in the ATP Rankings. As of the time of writing, the Serbian star has already seen some points deduction as he hasn’t won any tournaments this Tour yet. He currently sits at the 2nd spot with 8,360 points behind Jannik Sinner (9,890), but still ahead of Carlos Alcaraz (8,130).

by Paul Daniel Flores

June 21st, 20244 mins

Carlos Alcaraz Seeks to Continue Winning Pace

Now that the clay adventure is wrapped up with a bang for Carlos Alcaraz, his focus now shifts to the grass courts, the ever-challenging atmosphere of Wimbledon in his sights now more than ever. At the age of 21, the Spaniard notes that his success will come handy as he seeks to deliver a promising win in the next major.

Alcaraz has walked off the Roland Garros with a promising title win, and it cannot be denied that the Spanish star is making the most of his chances considering how well he played on the clay. But with the proper rest that he has enjoyed now, it does seem that he can come off with the best promising performance come the big tournament.

In case you missed it, Alcaraz has won the French Open final against Alexander Zverev to secure his spot in the ATP Rankings at world no. 2 (Novak Djokovic fell off at third while Jannik Sinner sits at the top). It is also worth noting that he has notched the massive feat of being the youngest player to ever win on all three surfaces – winning in the US Open (2022), Wimbledon (2023), and Roland Garros (2024).

Going “All-In” in Wimbledon

Alcaraz recently arrived in London with the hopes of playing in the Queen’s Club Championship, where he hopes to break some sweat and earn a chance to win big on grass. Still, we all know that the big focus for Alcaraz is to come up with a win in Wimbledon, where a victory in the final will see him return to the top of the ATP Rankings and edge Jannik Sinner at the top spot.

“I have more matches in my bank on grass and now with the great run I had last year at Queen’s and Wimbledon, I know a little bit on how to play and understand the game a little bit on grass,” Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday. “I am more mature playing on this surface. The first practice I have done here, my movement wasn’t as good as last year but it is a slow process, so I have to be really focused in every practice and every match.”

For the season, Alcaraz stands at 26-4, with titles being won in Roland Garros and the Indian Wells. Still, the Spanish star is taking it one game and one tournament at a time, considering that he is slated to take on Wimbledon at the end of June after the Queen’s Club Championships and will begin his July run with the Olympics.

The Chase Continues for Alcaraz

The season has been somewhat stagnant for Alcaraz to begin with. He had to play three tournaments before winning his first in the 2024 Tour in the Indian Wells. He would go on to lose in the next three before finally winning in the French Open. This just goes to show that Alcaraz is still actively chasing points in his game this season with the hopes of finally finishing the campaign as the world no. 1.

So far, Alcaraz sits at 8,580 points in the world no. 2 spot. Last year’s rival Novak Djokovic is not that far behind with 8,360 points, meaning that a win or two for Djokovic in any massive tournaments can lift him over Alcaraz. The Spaniard is still a tournament win behind Sinner, who sits well at the top with 9,480 points as of the time of writing.

by Paul Daniel Flores

June 12th, 20245 mins

Carlos Alcaraz Cruises Past Jesper De Jong Advances to Roland Garros Third Round

After coming up strong in his three-set affair against JJ Wolf in the First Round, Carlos Alcaraz has survived yet another challenge after beating Jesper De Jong in a four-set showdown with a 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, and 6-2 victory to advance to the Third Round. The Spanish star is now slated to play against Sebastian Korda or Soonwoo Kwon.

The World no. 3 blitzed his way past JJ Wolf in the First Round. He has shown significant poise in his game, especially after missing Rome due to an arm injury. This is the first time that he has competed in a tournament since the Madrid Open, and it is expected that he has some rust to shake off in his game so far.

Beating De Jong in a Battle of Attrition

In his first head-to-head showdown with the Dutch qualifier, Alcaraz proved to be a star to beat, winning the first two sets at 6-3 and 6-4. Fans were easily invested in the fact that this was going to be a clean sweep – until he suddenly dropped his first set of the French Open after De Jong responded with a 2-6 rally in the third set to make this a promising showdown. The 20-year-old even trailed by a break in ther fourth before he actually managed to regain his composure and closed out the match with another promising 6-2 win to move on to the third round.

Alcaraz has been really a promising player to watch, and he even nailed a total of 35 winners in the showdown alone. However, there are still a few tough patches that he still needs to work on, as he committed 47 unforced errors in that clash as well. This says a lot about how Alcaraz has managed to come up with a promising groove to get back into the game, and how De Jong failed to capitalize on that lack of decisiveness by Alcaraz in the third set.

According to the 20-year-old star, being placed in that kind of situation humbles him a bit and reminds him to go back into the basics that have helped him win – one game at a time.

"As I have said many times, any player can put you in trouble," Alcaraz said. "You have to be very focused every match and every point and every round. It does not matter if I am at the top of the rankings and playing someone outside the Top 100. You have to think you have to play at your best if you want to get through. The ranking doesn't matter, it matters the level to keep going and I am sure he will break the Top 100."

Chasing Numbers in the ATP Tour

This season has been a tough race for Alcaraz with a lot of short rallies in some of the biggest tournaments in the ATP Tour. He lost in the Australian Open (vs Zverev, Quarterfinals), Miami Open (vs Dimitrov, Quarterfinals), and the Madrid Open (vs Rublev, Quarterfinals) this season so far. While he has seen a massive victory in the Indian Wells Masters to defend his title, this pace by Alcaraz is still a promising climb to look out for.

We have seen Alcaraz pull off some promising finishes in the game in the past few years since he rose to prominence. He has already won his first Major in the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Wimbledon. This road to his third major is coming up as a promising groove that he looks to capitalize on, especially after he fell short in the previous edition of the clay-court slam last year when he lost to his rival Novak Djokovic in the semis.

Of course, there are big expectations that Alcaraz will win big in this tournament, and it cannot be denied that he will be expected to bring his game to the next level and improve on his tough losses in the second round against De Jong. Who knows, this maybe his big break to get back into his winning pace in the ATP Tour – and get back to the world no. 1 spot once more.

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by Paul Daniel Flores