Storylines are aplenty ahead of the men’s singles semi-finals at Wimbledon.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, world No 1 Jannik Sinner, seven-time winner Novak Djokovic and American Taylor Fritz make up the final four, each with their own set of supporters and reasons why they believe they can lift the crown on Sunday.
Tennis fans will be very familiar with their play styles, on-court personas and maybe even their personalities off the court.
But few would have had access to the performers in the tension-filled lock room or post-match bliss away from spectators and glare of the cameras.
Aside from the insights a fellow pro can provide, it’s hard to know what these stars are really like around the place.
It’s handy that Mail Sport has enlisted the help of former British No 1 Dan Evans to spill the beans on what the four semi-finalists are really like and why he’s so keen for Djokovic to win at SW19.
Mail Sport has enlisted the help of former British No 1 Dan Evans to spill the beans on what the four semi-finalists
Carlos Alcaraz is looking to defend the title he won against Novak Djokovic in 2024 and 2023
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz is a very polite chap relaxed, outgoing, you rarely see him angry. He’s a bit like Roger Federer in that he enjoys his tennis, makes it look pretty effortless, but behind the scenes he is working very hard.
He has a close-knit team, and there’s a lot of them. Maybe it’s a Spanish thing, because that was Rafa Nadal’s way too—to have a lot of people and family around. He really respects Juan Carlos Ferrero. He is more than just his coach; he has been a massive part of his life from a young age and will have spent a lot more time with him than his parents.
He likes to play a lot of golf, and a couple of years ago I ended up playing nine holes with Alcaraz and Ferrero. The funny thing was, Ferrero was even coaching him at golf, what shots to hit, helping him read the putts. Sometimes in the four-ball system you’ve got a free go at a shot, but when you’re younger you don’t understand that, so he was explaining that sort of stuff.
It was good to spend some time with him off the court. Andy Murray has spent quite a bit of time with him, but for someone of my ilk that doesn’t happen much, so it shows that Alcaraz mixes with everyone.
He is not bothered who you are; he takes everybody at face value. He has a good perspective on life and the sport.
Carlos Alcaraz is a very polite chap relaxed, outgoing, you rarely see him angry. He’s a bit like Roger Federer
Sinner is really nice, always says hello, but he’s more of a guy who gets in and out. You don’t really see him. I think I’ve seen him two or three times at Wimbledon this year. He’s there to do his job and is all business. He’s very focused, single-minded, and knows what he is there to do.
He stays very close to his team, even more so now with what’s happened over the last year with his ban. He has openly spoken about knowing who he can trust and who he cannot.
You see Alcaraz on site a bit more, but that’s just their personalities, Jannik is quieter, keeps himself to himself a bit more. That’s why the building rivalry is so good: it feels like you have two opposites.
Jannik Sinner stays very close to his team, even more so now with what’s happened over the last year with his ban
Taylor Fritz
I have spent quite a lot of time with Fritz. I sat next to him in the locker room at Wimbledon this year, and he has an unbelievable self-belief about him. He just loves competing on the tennis court, and then off it, he is mad into his video games.
I’m not a gamer, but in the locker room the other day, he was playing something on his phone, I almost want to say it was Pokémon. Fritz is on his phone playing that sort of stuff all the time. He travels with a gaming laptop too.
He talks rubbish like the rest of the guys in the locker room, but a lot of my conversations with him would be while watching a match and then he only talks about tennis. He’s analysing the match. It’s cliché, but he’s a student of the game. He really learns when he’s watching. He knows everybody inside out. He’s interested non-stop in tennis.
Taylor Fritz has an unbelievable self-belief about him. He just loves competing on the tennis court
Novak Djokovic
Novak is very relaxed off the court, but when he’s about to play, his aura kicks in and he commands his own space in the his own space in the locker room. He’s very easy for the younger guys to communicate with very open.
When you’re a bit older, you’ve got a bit of responsibility to pass things down to the younger players, and Novak has done that incredibly well. He is a really good ambassador for the locker room and for the players—how to win and how to lose. It feels like he wants to leave the sport in a better place than when he went in.
When you’re walking into the locker room and you’re younger, it’s never that easy to feel comfortable, but if the best player of all time says hello, it makes a big difference.
He’s got his kids on tour with him now you see them in the warm-up area. What an amazing thing for them to experience: watching your dad in the biggest matches in the world. It’s pretty cool.
Novak Djokovic is very relaxed off the court, but when he’s about to play, his aura kicks in and he commands his own space
Evans believes that the majority of the locker room would like to see Djokovic claim an eighth title
Who do you want to win the title?
I think the majority of the locker room would like to see Novak win it. What an occasion it would be, like when Tiger Woods won the Masters in 2019.
It would be nice if Novak got this one for the older guys, and I think it would keep him going a little longer if he won. I think he’s got a great chance of doing it as well.
These are, for sure, the best four grass-court players, so it’s a great semi-final line-up. I’ll be watching, for sure.
