Carlos Alcaraz loves playing on grass and is trying to win a third Wimbledon title in a row

LONDON (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz’s first match on a grass court came just six years ago.

He’s obviously a quick study.

When Wimbledon gets started Monday, the 22-year-old from Spain will play in the first Centre Court match of this fortnight, an honor reserved for the previous year’s men’s champion. The contest against Fabio Fognini will open Alcaraz’s bid for a third consecutive championship at the place.

That’s something only four men have achieved in the Open era, which began in 1968: Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Not bad company.

Alcaraz already is 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, which includes going 2-0 at the French Open — which he won three weeks ago via a comeback from two sets down against No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final — and 1-0 at the U.S. Open.

Last year, the No. 2-ranked Alcaraz became the youngest man to win a major trophy on each surface: grass, clay and hard courts.

But he’s got a fondness for the green stuff.

“The most beautiful tennis that we can watch is on grass. The style that the people bring to the court when they play on grass. … The sound of the ball,” said Alcaraz, who will go into Monday on a career-best 18-match winning streak, including a title at the Queen’s Club tournament on grass last weekend. “The movement is really tough, but when you get it, it’s kind of (as though) you’re flying.”

He loves that it allows him to show off the variety in his game and all of the skills he possesses.

Few players smile as much as Alcaraz does while in the thick of things, no matter what challenges might be presented by the foe across the net or the tension of the moment. He is as creative as it gets with a racket in hand, sometimes to his own detriment, and admits enjoying seeing replays on arena video screens after some of his best deliveries (that technology isn’t used at the All England Club, but perhaps it should be).

“I really want to hit slices, drop shots, going to the net all the time, playing aggressively,” said Alcaraz, who said he lost to two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray during a round of golf early in the week. “I think on grass it’s the style that you have to play, so that’s what I like the most.”

Other Grand Slam champions in action on Day 1 — when the temperature is expected to be around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) — include No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka against a qualifier making her Grand Slam debut, Carson Branstine; No. 6 Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion in January, against Elena-Gabriela Ruse; 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova against No. 32 McCartney Kessler; and 2021 U.S. Open champ Daniil Medvedev against Benjamin Bonzi. Others in action: 2024 Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini, 2024 U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz, and three-time major finalist Alexander Zverev.

It’s instructive to hear what Djokovic had to say about Alcaraz after a straight-set loss in last year’s final at the All England Club.

“He just was better than me in every aspect of the game,” Djokovic said. “In movement, in the way he was just striking the ball beautifully, serving great. Everything.”

Those words carry weight. Djokovic has won seven of his men’s-record 24 Grand Slam trophies at Wimbledon but was the runner-up to Alcaraz in 2023 and 2024.

When it comes to the idea of joining an elite group by completing a three-peat two weeks from now, Alcaraz insisted that isn’t the sort of thing he really cares about or spends time considering.

He wants the title, yes. But where it would place him in history? Leave that to others.

“I really want to lift the trophy,” Alcaraz said. “But right now, I’m not thinking about who I could join if I win three Wimbledons in a row.”

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis