LONDON – Alejandro Moro Cañas’ green dream was to get to know the All England Club, at least only as someone who goes with his ticket to watch the matches at Wimbledon.
“It’s my favorite tournament; the club where I’ve always dreamed of entering, even just as a spectator,” the Spaniard told CLAY at Roehampton Club, where he won his place in the Wimbledon main draw after qualifying.
Thus, this Friday he will fulfill the dream of accessing the most traditional tennis club in the world, where he will arrive as a competitor. There he would like to have the opportunity to face one of the favorites in the main courts.
A reader and amateur cook, the tennis player born 23 years ago in Madrid will play his first Grand Slam, curiously on the surface where he has the least experience.
Interview with Alejandro Moro Cañas
– Grass is not exactly the surface where you have had the most experience.
– I played Mallorca last year, I entered as Alternate at the last minute and played 50 minutes. I was beaten by (Roman) Safiullin 7-5 and 6-1. Last week I played the qualy of the Ilkley Challenger: in the first round I played on hard indoor because it was raining, then on grass I lost in the second round in one hour and 20 minutes.
– So, before arriving at Wimbledon you only had a little more than two hours of life competition on grass.
– Yes, although a lot of training. I arrived on Thursday and I was able to put in a lot of hours on grass. I think everyone I’ve played against has more experience than me. Already on Sunday, before the debut I realized, ‘wow, I’m going to play a match at Wimbledon, it’s unbelievable’. And on top of that, I won 12-10 in the third set super tiebreak. It was crazy, everything came to me, muscle tension out, I cried a lot. It was super emotional. And then I won another two matches doing very well, feeling comfortable on a surface I have hardly played on. On top of that, Spaniards tend to be very much clay court players, this is the complete opposite.
– Did you dream of playing at Wimbledon?
– It’s always been my favorite tournament, and just playing the qualy seemed like an experience that was going to stay in my mind for the rest of my life. The club where I have always dreamed of entering, even just as a spectator.
– Now you will be much more than a spectator.
– I never went to the All England Club and now I will go to play the main draw. I’m going to enjoy every second of it, it’s awesome what’s happening to me. It’s crazy.
– Do you prefer the draw to put you against a top player on Centre Court, or against the lowest-ranked player possible on a non-important court.
– In the qualifiers all the matches are very tough and in the main draw they are obviously going to be very complicated. To already have the chance to play a draw with Djokovic, with Alcaraz or with Sinner, it would be great, wouldn’t it? I’m the underdog, so any opponent I play against will mean a brutal illusion and it’s going to be a hyper-challenge for me. I’ll be happy with whatever I get, one thing or another. But it’s true that playing against a top player has to be the best.
– What is your dream in tennis?
– To play the best tournaments in the world, to play these four Grand Slams, to play the best event every week, all the Masters 1000, even 500 tournaments like the Conde de Godo. That is my dream. And in terms of ranking, getting into the top 20 would be a very important goal for me.
– How did you get started in tennis?
– Like many young children, my parents signed me up for a lot of sports. At that time I was doing basketball and martial arts. So, coming out of basketball practice, my dad parked his car right in front of a tennis court and there were kids training. I told him that I really liked what I saw there and that I wanted to try it. And he said, perfect, I’ll sign you up but you just have to choose one of all the sports. That’s how I started playing tennis when I was nine years old.
– Are you influenced by any Spanish tennis player?
– Obviously, Rafa Nadal is an echo that we all have and is a mirror to always look at, but I have been a lot of Roberto Bautista. It has filled me a lot to see him because I have always considered myself a player of his style, the Spanish atypical in the sense. Roberto also likes the fast courts. He has managed to be very good there. I also grew up on fast courts, so I took a lot of example from what he did. Bautista did not enter the top 100 so young. He has lived his process and well, I am also living my process step by step and the truth is that for me he is the best example I have.
– Last year you got to play him.
– It was very nice. I told him that he was a reference for me, he has always been super respectful and a super good person with me and I will always be grateful to him. He thought it was great to inspire someone.
– Do you and Carlos Alcaraz know each other?
– No, not personally. Well, I am three years older than him and in what is the juvenile stage, although it is true that he was way ahead of his age, we did not coincide much, because I was not very good either, I did not stand out when I was young. We played against each other in a Future (Alcaraz won in two sets in the M25 in Denia), but beyond that match, we have not maintained any contact.
– Do you have any hobbies that help you not to think so much about tennis?
– I like reading a lot, I really like detective novels, and the personal develompment genre. And I also like cooking a lot, in fact here we have come to an apartment and well, we do our little things there for breakfast and so on.
– Spanish cuisine?
– Yes, everything, a little bit of everything, yes, in fact another hobby is to watch a lot of recipe videos. Then I have a lot of fun. Some of those recipes I end up making. I’m not going to say I’m good, but so far no one who has tried the dishes has complained.
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