analysis
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic fought a final battle for records, the tennis throne and tournament victory in Wimbledon. The young Spaniard won – and certainly not for the last time.
It was 4:42 hours, which had a big winner besides Carlos Alcaraz: tennis. The Spaniard and Novak Djokovic delivered a show at a level that no other player can currently come close to. This game had everything: the most spectacular rallies, great emotions, twists and turns that were not thought possible and records.
Alcaraz against Djokovic was the duel of generations, the 20-year-old exceptional talent against the 36-year-old superstar, who has his place in the discussion in the question “Who is the best tennis player of all time?” should have forever. It became one of the very few moments when Djokovic was the beaten one. The Serb had to say goodbye to big dreams and unbelievable streaks. And yet he showed that he is a real champion.
Alcaraz totally surprises Djokovic
In the after-match interview on Center Court, where he had not lost a game in ten years, Alcaraz was knighted by Djokovic. “I have to start with all the praise for Carlos. What a quality he has, especially at the end of the game – you just deserve it, unbelievablesaid the seven-time Wimbledon champion.It’s hard to swallow when you’re so close, but we work for games like this every day. I’ve been blessed with many incredible matches and this is another. I lost to the better player.“
With all due respect, Djokovic would not have expected, especially before the tournament, that Alcaraz of all people would end his series of 34 wins in a row at Wimbledon (last defeat in 2017). “I thought I would have problems with you on clay and hard court, but not on grass. That’s a different story now” said Djokovic.
When Djokovic won tournaments, Alcaraz was just getting started
Alcaraz only played his fourth grass tournament in his young career. In preparation, however, he had already shown with his victory in Queens that he also belongs to the world class on grass – in Wimbledon he was even the best. “A dream has come true for me. I didn’t expect that. I am very proud that I learned so quickly‘ Alcaraz said.
Above all, he was proud that he won the final against Djokovic, one of his great idols. “It is incredible for me to have played and won this match against a legend of our sport on this stage“said Alcaraz. “You inspired me. When I started tennis, I watched your games – I felt you were already winning tournaments when I was born.“
The lessons of the French Open experience
And now the number 1 in the ATP world rankings – he keeps the position thanks to the win – has dethroned this great old star. At the French Open, Alcaraz and Djokovic had already met in the semifinals when the situation overwhelmed the young man from Murcia. He kept up athletically, but his body couldn’t stand the pressure – with cramps he fought his way to the end of the game, but he didn’t have a chance anymore.
This experience obviously helped Alcaraz enormously. Because it is not only the result that is so impressive, but also the how. “It’s a final, there’s no time to be scared or tired“Alcaraz had said before – and especially in the decisive moments he followed his words with deeds. The exceptional talent served aces with the second serve when he absolutely needed a point, or suddenly played serve and volley and he fended off breakballs boldly with stops.
A record for Alcaraz, a shattered dream for Djokovic
Djokovic often had the right answers, but in the end too few of them. The Serb had won 15 tie-breaks in the run-up to Grand Slam tournaments in a row, in the second set he lost such a decision again after a long time – and Alcaraz got on the road to victory. It intensified when the challenger managed the second break of the third set to make it 4-1 in a special way: Alcaraz used his seventh break ball in this game, 13 times it had gone over the debut – it was the longest service game of all Wimbledon finals.
It all resulted in Alcaraz setting a record. Nobody managed to win two victories with fewer Grand Slam participations – last year he had already won the US Open. Above all, Alcaraz prevented a number of Djokovic records. The “Djoker” could have caught up with Margaret Court with his 24th major title – nobody else was so successful in his tennis career. In addition, after tournament victories in Australia and Paris, Alcaraz robbed him of the chance to finally win the Grand Slam (all four major tournaments in one year).
Who else is supposed to beat Alcaraz?
The whole tennis world will have been watching this game. And she will not only have been amazed, but also have wondered what the future of her sport will look like. Alcaraz and Djokovic have not only shown in Wimbledon that no player can hold a candle to them at the moment. The top two in the world rankings are right there – and the gap may be greater than the score in this ranking suggests.
Many players who also want to make it to the top were clearly defeated by the two at Wimbledon. Alcaraz clearly won against Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner clearly failed at Djokovic – and Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are currently quite far from the absolute tennis elite anyway.
The hope: See you again in the final of the US Open
The only one who can currently stop Alcaraz’s long run of success seems to be Djokovic. With his advanced age, however, he will not be on the tour forever. After the final defeat in Wimbledon, however, he announced that he would continue to work hard not only to be an equal opponent to Alcaraz, but also to defeat him in the next big duel.
He could get his next opportunity at the US Open (August 28 to September 10) – the two will probably go into the last Grand Slam tournament of the year as top seed again and will only be able to meet in the final. Then Djokovic would be the challenger against defending champion and Wimbledon winner Alcaraz. And it is almost to be feared that at the latest when Djokovic’s career ends, Alcaraz will be the one who will (unsuccessfully) be defeated.