"I was so nervous that I couldn't speak anymore," Lajal looks back on his match against Alcaraz in the first round of Wimbledon 2024
Carlos Alcaraz has won Wimbledon twice consecutively, and was only one step away from achieving the triple this year. The winner in 2023, the Spaniard had managed to defend his title the following year. For his opening match in London last year, the current world number 1 defeated Mark Lajal (7-6, 7-5, 6-2). The Estonian looked back on this match more than a year later, in an interview given to the media Clay.
"Honestly, it's funny, because I don't remember much of the match. Everything is very blurry. I remember entering the court very well, but during the match, I was overwhelmed by so many emotions that I hardly understood what was happening. Right after, I thought: 'What just happened?'
The biggest lesson I learned is how to manage my emotions. Before the match, I was overwhelmed by so many emotions that I was ready to leave because I was too nervous. I didn't want to play, I just wanted to go home. Before the match, it was really terrible. The day before, I was having dinner with my friends, and Juan Sebastián Cabal was there.
"He's an incredible player, so intelligent"
At one point, I was so nervous that I couldn't speak anymore. Everyone noticed it. Cabal explained things to me, because he has been through it: he has won on that court. He told me to go sit on the center court. Around 7 p.m., my coach and I took our bikes to go to Wimbledon, we sat there, with no one around, and it calmed me down.
The next morning, I felt good, ready, not nervous. But the day before... I felt very bad. I just wanted to leave. It's difficult. Even though it was his first match, he forces you to play so many uncomfortable balls. Against some players, a big forehand is a winner. Against him, it's not. He's an incredible player, so intelligent. You need a lot of patience to play against him," Lajal stated.
Wimbledon 
