"Sometimes it's a disaster, but it helps me relax and have fun" - Carlos Alcaraz explains his preference for taking risks over hitting "simple shots"

Carlos Alcaraz spoke up about his preference for playing risky and extravagant shots over straightforward ones after he reached the final of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The defending champion came back from a set down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals on Friday, July 12, and will face seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic in the men's singles final on Sunday, July 14.

Alcaraz had a shaky start against Medvedev, with his serve looking especially vulnerable. The Russian too, faltered at times, which led to the topsy-turvy first set being decided via a tiebreak. Medvedev thoroughly outplayed the defending champion in the tiebreak, winning the first set 7-6(1).

However, Alcaraz stormed back into the contest and played some eye-catching tennis to win the next three sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, cementing his place in the final at SW19 for the second straight year.

Later, at a press conference, the World No. 3 was quizzed about his thought process when it comes to making a choice between playing a simple shot and a risky one. Alcaraz said that sometimes, he prefers playing the riskier shots more because they allow him to feel relaxed on the court, even if they don't come off.

"Sometimes I have to go for the effective one rather than the other options. Sometimes I do it because I feel so nervous and it’s the kind of thing that relaxes me. Because I’ve got a smile on my face doing disaster sometimes. In that moment I was feeling really calm. I was feeling that I can do these kind of shots," Alcaraz said.

The three-time Major champion went on to say that for him, playing the simple shots was often trickier.

"I have the confidence that when I hit these shots, I think they’re going to go in. Sometimes as I said, it’s a disaster. But it helps me a lot to relax, smile, & have fun on the court. But sometimes it’s difficult to do the simple shots," Alcaraz added.

"I always try to make the people enjoy watching tennis" - Carlos Alcaraz at 2024 Australian Open

Carlos Alcaraz in action at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships

Alcaraz put on quite the show in his first-round match against veteran Richard Gasquet earlier this year at the Australian Open. The Spaniard took just two hours and 22 minutes to beat the Frenchman, and as usual, played some stunning shots.

During his post-match on-court interview, Alcaraz was asked by John McEnroe about his reasoning behind playing such shots regularly. The Spaniard said that some of it stems from his own authentic style of play, while the rest of it is all about entertaining the crowd.

"Sometimes [I do that]. I always try to make drop shots, volleys. It's playing for myself but I always try to make the people enjoy watching tennis, watching my game. Sometimes I don't see the score and try to make the impossible shots, sometimes just for the crowd as well," Alcaraz said.

Sunday's final against Djokovic will be a rematch of the thrilling five-set finale of 2023, which went Alcaraz's way and earned him the first Wimbledon title of his career. It will also be the sixth match between the two, with the Serb leading 3-2 in their head-to-head.