You and Carlos Alcaraz have spent the last few years pushing each other, trading big titles, and shaping this new era of men’s tennis together. With him missing Roland-Garros and now Wimbledon [Alcaraz has been sidelined with a right wrist injury], how has it felt to not have your greatest rival there?
As I’ve said many times before, tennis needs Carlos. I wish him a speedy recovery and I know that he has a great team around him that will be supportive and help him on the way back.
So you’re returning to Wimbledon as the defending champion. Does that change anything for you mentally, or do you approach it the same as every other tournament?
I approach it in the same way. I always say we don’t defend, we always try to go for it, and hopefully we can do that. I know it’s a long tournament. How I start is going to be very important. I haven’t played any matches on grass, so the first match—or the first few matches—are going to be difficult. But if I’m able to get through them, I know the confidence on grass can come back and the good feelings as well. At the moment, we’re just trying to get a good rhythm on grass, and then we’ll see how the tournament goes.
You’ve said Wimbledon was a tournament you dreamed about as a kid. What makes it feel different from the other Grand Slams?
Yeah, you really feel the history and prestige of playing here. Everything around the tournament feels different compared to other events and it’s the only big event we have on this surface. So it’s very nice to be back here and share this moment with my team. My family is not here yet—maybe they’ll come if I go far in the tournament, but we’ll see.
How does your family decide whether or not they’re going to come? Do you have any superstitions about them being there too early?
No, I don’t. I think they just leave me alone with what I need to do. I have my job, and they have their jobs, you know. I know what’s best for me and what I need to do. They know tennis, of course, but not as much as I do because they’ve never played [laughs]. This is also just how we are as a family. We like to support each other, but we also give each other space. And when we’re at home, we never mention tennis—we always talk about different things.
So when you’re in London, you’re obviously super focused on training, but is there anything that you like to do in your downtime? I know in the past you’ve talked about setting alarms during tournaments to watch Formula 1.
When I’m here the schedule is very much: tennis, come back to the house, sleep, repeat. But I think it’s very important to switch off the mind, so when I have time I will go play some golf, build some Legos, or watch Formula 1. Football is also on now with the World Cup, so I’ll follow that. Tennis is important, of course, but so is taking your mind off it.
