Novak Djokovic has hailed Carlos Alcaraz after the pair’s incredible Wimbledon final showdown, insisting he has never faced a player quite like the Spaniard before.
World No1 Alcaraz clinched his second Grand Slam title in epic fashion at the All England Club on Sunday, bouncing back from a first-set wipeout to clinch an epic five-set victory in a titanic tussle that lasted for almost five hours on Centre Court.
As well as adding to his US Open crown claimed last year and further underlining his status as the next superstar of men’s tennis, Alcaraz also became the first player to beat Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon for a decade.
Djokovic, who had not failed to win Wimbledon since 2017, will also have to wait longer to try and finally complete a calendar Grand Slam, while he also fell just short in his quest to match Roger Federer’s record haul of eight men’s titles at SW19 and Margaret Court’s all-time leading mark of 24 Grand Slam triumphs.
It was a marked difference from the last meeting between the pair in the French Open semi-finals last month, when eventual champion Djokovic breezed through the final two sets at Roland Garros after the unfortunate Alcaraz was beset by cramp.
Afterward their Wimbledon classic, the Serbian revealed his belief that his new rival has all the best attributes of the famous ‘Big Three’ of men’s tennis.
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal], and myself,” he said. “I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically best of all three worlds.
“He’s got this mental resilience and really maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It’s quite impressive. He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defense that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years.
“And I think he’s got some nice sliding backhands that he’s got some similarities with my backhands. Yeah, two-handed backhands, defence, being able to adapt. I think that has been my personal strength for many years. He has it, too.
“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger and Rafa have their own obviously strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces.”
The fact that Alcaraz, who also won the Queen’s Club title in June, has risen so swiftly on grass this year was even a shock to the man himself, with Wimbledon only his fourth tournament on the surface.
Asked if he was surprised that the Spaniard was already beating him to titles on both clay and grass, Djokovic said: “To clay, no, I’m not surprised because he grew up on clay. His game is obviously suited and developed for clay, probably slower hard courts.
“But, yeah, grass, I must say he surprised me. He surprised everyone how quickly he adapted to grass this year. He hasn’t had too many wins on grass in the last two years that he played. Obviously him coming from clay, having the kind of style that he has.
“I think Queen’s helped him a lot. He was close to lose that first match, opening match, in Queen’s. Then he started to gain momentum, more and more wins against really good players.
“Wimbledon courts are slower than Aorangi courts or maybe Queen’s courts. It’s more suitable for I guess the baseliners like he is.
“I must say the slices, the kind of chipping returns, the net play, it’s very impressive. I didn’t expect him to play so well this year on grass, but he’s proven that he’s the best player in the world, no doubt. He’s playing some fantastic tennis on different surfaces and he deserves to be where he is.”
With Federer retired and Nadal planning to follow suit next year amid more injury woes, many will hope that Alcaraz vs Djokovic now has the makings of the sport’s next great rivalry.
And while the 36-year-old Djokovic admits that he doesn’t know how much longer he has left at the top level, he is already eyeing swift revenge over Alcaraz at the US Open, which starts at Flushing Meadows on August 28.
“I would hope [this is going to be the start of a big rivalry], for my sake,” he said. “He’s going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don’t know how long I’ll be around.
“Yeah, I mean, let’s see. It’s been only three matches that we played against each other. Three really close matches. Two already this year in later stages of Grand Slams.
“Yeah, I hope we get to play in the US Open. Why not? I think it’s good for the sport, 1 and 2 in the world facing each other in almost a five-hours, five-set thriller. Couldn’t be better for our sport in general, so why not?”
