Wimbledonthe newly crowned champion carlos alcaraz has revealed that several superstars, including former world number one Rafael Nadal, congratulated him on his recent success.
The 20-year-old got the third Grand Slam of the year in London after defeating the current number two in the world, the Serbian. Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller with a score of 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
While speaking after the match, the reigning world number one stated that a host of stars congratulated him, including NBA star Jimmy Butler and Will Smith.
He also stated that, of the congratulatory messages, it was the message from 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal that excited him the most.
“The thing about Rafa, whenever Rafa congratulates you, he makes you especially excited because in the end he is your idol,” he said. “Fernando Alonso also congratulated me, who is someone I admire. Will Smith surprised me when he congratulated me. My friend Jimmy Butler… There have been many messages that have touched me.
“I don’t want to leave anyone because there have been many sports legends, artists… I saw that Sebastián Yatra dedicated a song to me and told me ‘this is for you’. That all these people congratulate you is exciting”.
The win in London was really special because, prior to this year, Alcaraz had never played in the quarterfinals or beyond in the competition. Last year was his best outing where he was knocked out in the fourth round.
On the other hand, the loss ended Djokovic’s hope, for at least 12 months, of equaling Roger Federer’s record eight Wimbledon titles.
As of now, the 23-time Grand Slam winner is the second most successful player in the competition’s history with seven titles to his name alongside American Pete Sampras.
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