Carlos Alcaraz ruffles feathers of Wimbledon crowd with quip about Spain
By Lee Vowell
Carlos Alcaraz did not mean to insult anyone, especially the entire nation of the country in which he had just finished his most recent match. He was in the midst of his on-court post-match interview and asked about playing in the Wimbledon final on Sunday and he said it. The remark got an instant response. For Alcaraz, the reaction seemed unexpected.
Prior to the interview, he had played his normal tennis with a lot of flare and ridiculous shot-making. He dropped the first set to Daniil Medvedev and then swept the Russian off the court in the next three sets. The score probably made the match look closer than it truly was. There was little doubt that the Spaniard was going to lose.
In the interview that followed, Alcaraz was asked about playing Sunday when he answered almost sheepishly that the day could be a special one for him and his country of Spain. The non-football (soccer) fan might not have known why the Wimbledon crowd suddenly started making uneasy sounds to what Alcaraz had said. Spain plays England in the final of the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.
Carlos Alcaraz gives the Wimbledon crowd something to jeer about
As the interviewer began to laugh and the spectators continued to respond poorly, Alcaraz waited a few seconds to respond before adding, "I didn't say Spain was going to win." He clarified by saying that Sunday should be fun for all involved.
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That is fair, right? He has a right to pull for his home country and he has long been a football fan. He also enjoys a bit of golf but when asked about the potential of him playing on Saturday ahead of Sunday's final - something Alcaraz said he would do - he saved the moment a bit. He said matter-of-factly about his golf game, "I'm so so bad. I can't hit (the ball) straight."
"I didn't say Spain is going to win, I'm just saying it's going to be a really fun day" 😂
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz, ever the diplomat 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/s1HZQrN8ZC
Of course, tennis fans likely hoped that Alcaraz would play Novak Djokovic in the final. That would be a rematch of the five-set thriller from last year. One might wonder if Alcaraz and Djokovic face off in gold before Sunday's tennis.
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