Carlos Alcaraz, fresh off from his early exit at the Queen’s Club Championships, is looking forward to defending his title at Wimbledon. The Spaniard recently added another grand slam title to his portfolio by emerging as the “Prince of Clay”. While the major event is just a few days away from unleashing the action, former pro Andy Roddick talked about the intricacies of his potential on grass.

In the latest episode of Served with Andy Roddick, the former American pro analyzed the forms of players before Wimbledon. While he was quite excited about Jessica Pegula‘s run at Queen’s, Carlos Alcaraz’s topic made him serious. Roddick highlighted how Alcaraz’s performance at Queen’s Club last year marked a turning point.

He said, “Alcaraz needed Queen’s last year. I watched his first round and then I watched his third round at Queen’s a year ago, but when I watched I’m going, ‘He doesn’t know how to play on grass yet.’ By the third round, I’m going, ‘Oh, okay, well that was easy for him to figure out.’ He needed that last year going into Wimbledon because there is this aha moment.”

Roddick also reflected on Alcaraz’s recent achievements, noting how he looked comfortable on grass courts. “Carlos Alcaraz played a great second round against Cerundolo, looked amazing floating around the court doing all of the Alcaraz things up against Draper. Like he should have, after Roland Garros hopefully partied his ass off because he deserved it and he didn’t need the grass preparations like he did last year. He knows how to play on this surface, he’s the defending Wimbledon champion.”

Alcaraz’s confidence comes from his recent win at Roland Garros. The young Spaniard created history by clinching his first French Open title with a thrilling five-set final win over Alexander Zverev. The 21-year-old took four hours and 19 minutes to secure his win and therefore filled the gap left by Rafael Nadal’s early exit at Roland Garros.

Carlos Alcaraz also seems to be confident about his firm grip on grass. “I have more matches in my bank on grass and with the great run I had last year at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, I know a bit on how to play and understand the game on grass,” he said. While it is evident that he’s determined to be dominant on grass, it also remains the reason for his denial of the King of Clay’s request.

Carlos Alcaraz says no to Rafael Nadal’s request for Olympic preparations

Rafael Nadal has decided to keep himself out of the grass-court season. The Spaniard is determined to secure a medal at the Paris Olympics and therefore aims at playing more frequently on clay. While Carlos Alcaraz is his confirmed companion for the upcoming event, Rafa comfortably asked him to add more weight to his schedule with a doubles participation.

Alcaraz, dealing with the pressure of defending his Wimbledon title, had to deny the Spaniard’s call. “Rafa and I talked about the importance of playing a doubles tournament together but it will be difficult,” he responded, mentioning how the already packed schedule would not allow him to add another event in line.

The tennis world is already aware of the fact that Carlos Alcaraz idolizes Rafael Nadal. While he wishes to prioritize the defence of a grand slam title, his denial seems to be justified.