Wimbledon: 'I'm going for him!' - Carlos Alcaraz pumped for Frances Tiafoe showdown after latest convincing victory
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By Dan Quarrell
Published 03/07/2024 at 17:12 GMT+1
The Wimbledon men's draw has thrown up a very intriguing third-round clash with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz set to take on another hugely entertaining player in Frances Tiafoe. Alcaraz was almost immediately asked about the match-up in his on-court interview after comfortably beating Aleksandar Vukic, and he did not attempt to hide his anticipation at the challenge ahead of him.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Carlos Alcaraz declared that he was "going for him" when he was asked how he felt about facing Frances Tiafoe in their tasty third-round encounter at Wimbledon.
The No. 3 seed stormed to a straight-sets, 7-6(5) 6-2 6-2, victory over Aleksandar Vukic in their second-round clash on Wednesday, and he was already excited to look ahead to his next match in his post-match interview.
Alcaraz, who had to at least battle through the opening set in a tense tie-break before accelerating away from his opponent thereafter, was pleased with how he performed against Vukic on Court 1.
"I'm really happy about my performance today," he began. "The first set was the key for me. He served for the set, then I played a really good tie-break. In the second set and third set, I played a really high level so I'm really happy about it.
"It was difficult for me to close the [first] set. I knew it was going to be the same. I had to be there. I put a few returns in, a few winners. It was a really good game for me on the return side.
"In those situations, you have to increase your level, you have to put the early ball in, try to be aggressive with your style, so that's all I thought about in that situation, and it was really helpful for me."
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The Spaniard, fresh from his French Open glory, is now poised to take on the 29th seed Tiafoe in the third round, and it is a match-up he believes will entertain the fans at the All England Club.
"I'm going for him! We played a really good match in the US Open," he noted.
"I know he is a really talented player, a tough one, even tougher on grass with his style. Good volley, good slices.
"It is going to be a very difficult match for me. I'm ready to take that challenge, put on a show. I'm ready to play a really high level of tennis and hopefully take him."
Alcaraz is hunting his fourth Grand Slam title after his success at Roland-Garros, and he is striving to defend his Wimbledon crown from last summer.
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