In the new series of Break Point, the Netflix documentary that shadows elite tennis players, Carlos Alcaraz was asked about nerves. The Spaniard was 19 years old at the time – he’s 20 now – and was closing in on the US Open final. “No,” Alcaraz replied, looking genuinely bemused by the question. “No, I don’t feel pressure.”
Alcaraz won the US Open, his first grand slam title, and comes into Wimbledon, which starts tomorrow, as the 2023 Queen’s Club champion and world No 1: it is the first time for 20 years that the top seed in the men’s singles has not been Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray. But if you imagine that the expectation will weigh heavy on his young shoulders, perhaps think again.
