Carlos Alcaraz has made an admission over British tennis star Cameron Norrie ahead of their Wimbledon quarter-final showdown on Tuesday.
Alcaraz, who has landed the last two men’s singles trophies in SW19, is the heavy favourite to progress past Norrie in the clash on Centre Court.
But the 22-year-old Spanish superstar, a five-time Grand Slam champion, has described his upcoming battle with the British No.3 as a ‘nightmare’.
Norrie is enjoying the second best Wimbledon run of his career with the 29-year-old only going further in 2022 when he reached the semi-finals.
Alcaraz and Norrie have faced each other six times on the ATP Tour to date, with the Briton coming out on top in two of their last three matches.
The last time they locked horns was in the final of the 2023 Rio Open, with Norrie defeating Alcaraz 5-7 6-4 7-5 to land the title.
Alcaraz: Norrie is a ‘nightmare’ to face
Speaking ahead of their Wimbledon quarter-final clash, Alcaraz said: ‘Facing Cam is always really, really difficult.
‘We have had really difficult battles already. For me, facing him is almost a nightmare to be honest. [He is] really tough from the baseline.
‘I’m not surprised he’s in the quarter-finals playing a great tennis because I’ve seen him practicing.
‘When he lost at Queen’s, he stayed for five days practicing morning, afternoon, and night. I saw him.
‘So I’m not surprising at all seeing his level. It’s going to be really different. He’s playing at home, as well, so he’s going to use the crowd.
‘I have to be really strong mentally and focused to play good tennis if I want to beat him.’
Norrie fires warning to Alcaraz
Following his last-16 victory over Nicolas Jarry, Norrie was asked if left-handed players like himself had a benefit playing on grass and if it was more difficult for right-handed players like Alcaraz to read his game.
‘Yeah, I think for me specifically my lefty service is quite effective with my backhand as well,’ Norrie said. ‘It’s very low.
‘Coming from that deuce side, I think a lot of players aren’t used to seeing the ball coming that low. Probably just myself and [Adrian] Mannarino are the two players, and maybe [Mattia] Bellucci as well, hitting it that low.
‘It’s a little bit unorthodox. I’m trying to use it to my advantage. And Nico was hitting a lot of slice wide on the deuce today, a lot of aces as well.
‘Yeah, I was doing my best to use that to my advantage, and I’m happy I’m a lefty.’
