Otherwise, that’s us … but all you need to do now is click below and join Sarah Rendall for Casper Ruud [4] v Alexander Zverev [22]. Otherwise, I’ll see you on Sunday for the men’s final, and until then, peace and love.
I can’t lie to you, I’m feeling a little empty here – it’s like going to El Bulli and wading into an incredible hors d’oeuvre then, with mains plated and served, a faceless passer-by flips the table. OK, I’d eat whatever it was off the floor without compunction and with gusto, but you get what I mean.
The first set and a half he thinks he played really well, but at the end of the second Alcaraz was better. He knew he had to take the ball early and attack because he had to be the aggressor – Alcaraz wants to be in control, so he had to do what his opponent does, only better. He’s proud to be in another final, is living a dream, loves playing at Roland-Garros, and he hopes that one day he’ll win the tournament again.
Ridiculously, the crowd, disappointed at what happened to their match, boo Djokovic again then cheer him. He looks almost tearful as he commiserates with Alcaraz, saying physical problems are the last things you want. He told him at the net that he’s young and he’ll win plenty of these, plus he’s a really nice bloke, and showed great fighting spirit to keep at it instead of just turning it in. He reckons that towards the end of the second set he “wasn’t feeling fresh at all”, saying they went at it toe-to-toe so he just tried to stay present, not think about what was going on on the other side of the net, and he respects Carlos, hoping he’s back soon.
Carlos Alcaraz, though – what a joyfully, joyously brilliant warrior. His time will come, but for now, the king stay the king.
Novak Djokovic [3] beats Carlos Alcaraz [1] 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1
Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-6 1-5 Djokovic* Djokovic has served so well today and he lands his first go twice, finishing both points in short order. Alcaraz then nets but saves the first match point … only to net a forehand shortly afterwards, and that’s a fittingly tepid end to one of the greatest matches and greatest anticlimaxes we’ll ever see. Djokovic must beat Zverev or Ruud for his 23rd Grand Slam.
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*Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-6 1-5 Djokovic A fine backhand return from Djokovic sets up the net putaway, but Alcaraz makes 30-15 with lovely hands at the net. He’s moving about now, punishing a forehand that gives him two goes at his first game in 11, and though he can’t take the first, Djokovic goes long on the forehand so will now have to serve for the final.
Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-6 0-5 Djokovic* Alcaraz finds another lovely lob, so Djokovic lands a serve onto the T; the crowd, desperate for more tennis and the continuation of the match they were enjoying, boo. Then, at 15-all, the youngster – and you’ve no idea how depressing it is for me to call someone that – wins a net exchange, only for Djokovic to respond with another T-serve. Slowly but definitely, Alcaraz is improving – the nerves will have gone, which must be helping – problem being the match is almost over, and though Djokovic is forced through deuce for his hold, another ace, this time out wide, takes him to within a game of another final. The atmosphere on Chatrier is very strange, so let us take solace in the quality of what we saw to begin with, and what we’ll see in the future.
*Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-6 0-4 Djokovic Alcaraz flings himself into a forehand, it hits the net and he smiles ruefully, accepting of his fate; acknowledging that the bad stuff that happens to him – to all of us – is comic. He’ll be sore for a long time, but he’s also cementing himself into the affections of the tennis world, the Roland-Garros crowd in particular … though, as I type that he sends down a double that hands over double break-point, and quickly nets to cement it.
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Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-6 0-3 Djokovic* This was legit one of the greatest matches I’ve seen – I can’t think of many played at a higher standard and intensity – but Alcaraz gets to 15-30 when Djokovic nets. He’s moving a little better, running in to chase down a drop and leaping into an overhead, but his putaway hits the tape then he dumps a forehand, and though he’s starting to grunt a bit again, it’s impossible to see him recovering quickly enough to get back into the match given the state of it.
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*Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-6 0-2 Djokovic So what can Alcaraz do on serve? He’s lost the last seven games, and seems to be OK to hit with feet planted, but otherwise is still struggling. Shonuff, he’s soon facing 15-40 without putting up all that much resistance, tamely nets a backhand, and my friends, I’m afraid that this match is past tense.
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Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-6 0-1 Djokovic* Djokovic begins with an ace then nets a drop, and moving in Alcaraz looks to be moving a bit better. But he doesn’t have do anything if Djokovic is going to be so careless, wafting over the baseline for 15-30. But when the next return does likewise, it doesn’t look good … but Alcaraz does make 30-40 … only for Djokovic to retort with an ace. Of course he does. But have a look at Carlitos Alcaraz! He pushes his man back with a backhand, then a beautifully-disguised backhand restores him to deuce, and maybe this match isn’t over just yet. All the more so when Djokovic pats a dreadful drop into the ne … prior to saving the break with another high-kicking expletive out wide, followed by a clean-up forehand back to the same corner. From there, Djokovic serves out, but there were signs in that game that Alcaraz is feeling a bit better.
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And off we go again, Djokovic to serve at the start of set four.
Djokovic stretches out as Alcaraz returns, but without the smiling bounce of which we’ve become so fond. Come on Carlos, mate!
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“Just think about this,” returns James Wilson. “If Novak wins this contest and surely Sunday’s final, he’ll be the only man ever to have won each slam at least thrice. This is why the guy is the best. To do that in the era of Nadal at the French as well is unreal. He’s also incidentally the only person to have beaten Nadal, the best single-surface player of all-time no less – better than Fed on grass, better than Connors on indoor wood (teehee!), better than any number of players on outdoor hard courts – twice at the French.”
I agree – unlike Federer, he didn’t need Soderling to do what he couldn’t, unlike Martina winning her ninth Wimbledon, he didn’t need Zina to get rid of Graf – and he’s not close to finished.
Alcaraz leaves the court pointing to both legs and both forearms. He can keep going because he’s not worsening an injury by playing on, but I can’t see him continuing if this doesn’t improve quickly. I guess he’s not used to playing long matches with long rallies, and there’s no one better at imposing that than his opponent.
Novak Djokovic takes the third set 6-1 to lead by two sets to one – but Carlos Alcaraz has cramp
*Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-6 Djokovic Djokovic quickly makes 0-40 and Chatrier, a heaving mosh-pit 20 minutes ago, now sits silent and befuddled. Alcaraz does win a couple of points, but then he goes long on the backhand unable to sit down on his shot, and this is just the worst; he’s not even allowed another medical timeout.
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Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-5 Djokovic* In the fullness of time Alcaraz might look back on this as the making of him, a Derek Redmond moment but he comes back to dominate. And we do have to note that Djokovic has made him run, done as much running, and is still springing about the court – not as he once was, but nevertheless. He blazes a forehand winner from corner to corner, making 0-15, but he didn’t have to move for the ball – he won’t get many of those – and a hold to 15 takes Djokovic to within a game of the set. This is so disappointing, but hopefully Alcaraz can delay things enough so that whatever he’s taken kicks in and he can compete properly again while the match is still alive.
*Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-4 Djokovic I know Djokovic is a remorseless winner, but he looked to be absolutely loving the contest, so I doubt he’s totally loving where it’s now at, though he’s desperate to win. He makes 0-30 and Alcaraz then swipes long, barely able to move. I hate to say it, but I’m not sure he’s making the end of this match and he’s broken again, to love. Absolute complete and utter sake, and the trainer returns to disburse pills and a massage.
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Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-3 Djokovic* It doesn’t seem right that Alcaraz was only allowed a three-minute break while Djokovic disappeared for longer between sets – which can’t have helped Alcaraz’s situation either. It’s a shame, too, that a contest which was absolutely fizzing has now calmed right down, and it looks to be affecting Djokovic too, who plays a poor game to end up at deuce … before closing out, his opponent seeming unable to push off his leg properly. I wonder if Alcaraz would be best tanking this set to come back stronger in the next.
*Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-2 Djokovic Hang about! That wasn’t change of ends, so I think Alcaraz has to forfeit the next game – a break – and the problem is Alcaraz’s calf. I guess that tells us how hot it is, what it’s like playing Djokovic, and how horrifically fit and supple the Serb is. Yup, Djokovic is given the break, I guess because cramp a fitness issue not an injury and, as Miles McLagan says, fed by stress. I hope he’s better enough to continue as he has been.
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Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-1 Djokovic* Oh man, Alcaraz sends a serious backhand towards the forehand corner, except Djokovic responds with a majestic forehand winner, lasered cross-court. We wins up at 30-all, whereupon Alcaraz makes an excellent return then slams a forehand into the corner, but Djokovic reads it and responds with another forehand winner; he’s hitting that shot with such pop these days, more than ever before, an insane thing to say about a 36-year-old. And before Djokovic goes again, Alcaraz crouches with what looks like cramp, he can’t move to hit the next return, and with the game over, he calls a medical timeout.
*Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 1-0 Djokovic This isn’t just the highest-level game of tennis I’ve seen in ages, it’s the highest-level game of anything – the highest-level anything – I’ve seen in ages, and I went to Beyoncé twice last week. Anyroad, we wind up at 30-all and, after some baseline thrashing and excellent defence from Alcaraz, Djokovic nets a backhand slice, then Alcaraz closes out with a dreamy lob. For the first time in the match, the Serb is behind.
He returns, and off we go.
Djokovic has nipped off for some r&r. We’ll resume when he returns.
Carlos Alcaraz levels the match at 1-1, taking the second set off Novak Djokovic 7-5!
Alcaraz 3-6 7-5 Djokovic* Alcaraz gets in front at 0-30, then more concussive hitting sees Djokovic chasing to the corner and unable to get a forehand back into play. Three more set points, and another forehand error means we’re all-square! This is so so so good, and we’ve got so much more to come!
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*Alcaraz 3-6 6-5 Djokovic He couldn’t could he? A backhand return whizzes by Alcaraz for a clean winner, then another looks to have given him 0-30 … except, somehow, Alcaraz stays in the rally – I say somehow but what I mean is courtesy of his insane forehand, astounding engine and terrifying desire, so nothing you or I couldn’t do – then Djokovic nets at net. So Alcaraz makes 30-15, but a pair of elastic forehands are too good even for the terrific volley he contrives in between and when Djokovioc punishes a second serve, break point looks imminent … except Djokovic again nets at net before winning an exchange of rare intellect and dexterity for deuce, sealing the deal with a leaping volley, arm coming over the top of head. And now look! A cheap error from Alcaraz gives Djokovic set point … and he misses a backhand you expect him to make! Increasingly, it feels like this set will decide the match: if Djokovic wins it, he’ll find one of the next three, but if Alcaraz does, you’d back him to run and hit harder for longer – he looks the stronger man. Anyhow, he closes out to earn a breaker minimum and this is that rarity: something you knew would be amazing, and yet it turns out you didn’t know anything because it’s amazing in ways you can’t comprehended until they happen. I don’t know what to tell you, people; look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now.
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Alcaraz 3-6 5-5 Djokovic* Now then. Alcaraz puts aside his fury at failing to close out, running around his backhand to devastate a fore down the line for 0-15. He’s starting to make an impression on the Djokovic serve these last few games, and another forehand down the line takes him to within two points of the set, the crowd chanting his name. So Djokovic tries a drop but doesn’t disguise it and the ball sits up too, so Alcaraz dashes in for the kill, raising three set points in the process; he’s dominating now and still full of energy, charging in to try and retrieve a drop that looks unreachable and getting there … only to send it long. Next, a serve and a volley give Djokovic 30-40, a service winner follows, and this is just ridiculous behaviour, another fantastic serve making advantage before a cunning forehand to the corner forces Alcaraz to go long. It’s not often we can use the word awesome correctly, but Novak Djokovic is awesome.
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*Alcaraz 3-6 5-4 Djokovic Djokovic plays an outstanding first point, battering a barrage of backhands to elicit the error. So Alcaraz lands yet another first serve – he’s at 81% – and the difference in this set is that now it’s being backed up by a forehand that’s gloriously grooved. Of course, as I say that he goes long to end another rally of disquieting power, only to make 30-all with an ace, his third of the match, out wide. He’s bang into this now, and the thought of these two spending the next two or three years ruckusing for our pleasure is giving me life. And what’s this?! Djokovic skates in to retrieve a short ball, flicks it over the net, and Alcaraz sends his response from whence it came … and wide. No matter, a poor return gives him deuce and this match is maturing into an epic of epic proportions, Djokovic chasing down a drop, bobbing it to the corner … and Alcaraz misses his forehand clean-up! He’s somewhat agitated by this development, bashing his racket into the dirt, and advantage down, can only watch as a stupendous backhand secures the break-back! This is wondrous, compelling, affirming, inspirational stuff – and it’s not even close to over! Lucky, lucky us.
Alcaraz 3-6 5-3 Djokovic* Djokovic goes long on the backhand … so slices an ace onto the T. His ability to behave like this under pressure is so far from normal but Alcaraz then plays a superb point, battering away until his opponent can’t take any more and saluting the crowd as they extol him; 15-30. So Djokovic sends him out wide, dangling a winner down the line in front of him, and though he can’t get over the high part of the net, he is starting to control more rallies, and when he lays a drop onto the sideline, Djokovic is fractionally long with his riposte; break point Alcaraz! This time, Djokovic serves out wide but can’t direct his clean-up into the opposite corner, instead hanging in the rally until his opponent loses patience and tries to hit a winner off balance, off the wrong ball. Again, though, Alcaraz takes control of the next rally and Djokovic goes at a volley with hard hands, sending the ball beyond the baseline … then yet another colossal forehand secures the break! Alcaraz will now serve for the second set, and might momentum have switched? I think so, because that was coming.
*Alcaraz 3-6 4-3 Djokovic Yet another exhausting, affirming point, Djokovic looking slightly weary for the first time as, following a succession of gets, he races in to pick up a drop only to make a mess of it. But though Alcaraz then dumps an overhead, he plays two drops adroit enough to win him the point but teasing enough to force Djokovic to pursue them; 30-15. And what is that?! Again, Djokovic springs to the net, but with plenty of time to plot the winner he’ll hit when he gets there … only to send his flick long! This is a tighter match now, but it’s still the Serb conjuring chances to make things happen … except once Alcaraz secures his hold he calls out the trainer to have a look at his forearm. If I were a cynic, I’d say that at 36, he fancies a little sit-down, and feels like halting the barely perceptible momentum his opponent has garnered.
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Alcaraz 3-6 3-3 Djokovic* More sensational serving from Djokovic, and increasingly it looks like this set will come down to a point here and there that, given all we know about these players and this match, will probably go to him. He holds to 15, but it’s a different hold to 15 from the one Alcaraz just managed, the majority of the points quick and breaking no kind of consideration.
*Alcaraz 3-6 3-2 Djokovic A lovely first point of the game, Alcaraz upping the power on the forehand before finishing things with a drop. Thing is, he’s having to perform astonishing feats on a reg, while what’s astonishing about Djokovic is the comparative ease with which he’s doing his thing. Even this hold, to 15, features rallies that might’ve gone t’other way, but it must also be said that he’s serving like an absolute demon, landing his first delivery more than 80% of the time.
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Alcaraz 3-6 2-2 Djokovic* Djokovic is serving superbly today, a fine delivery giving him 30-15 before a wrongfooting drop, on the skid, that sees Alcaraz slipping onto his hands. In co-coms, Mac reckons he needs to stand a bit further in to return, and he certainly needs to do something because he’s barely threatening the break.
In Novak voice: NOT TOO BAD 🤯#RolandGarros | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/pHkwxrff4u
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2023
*Alcaraz 3-6 2-1 Djokovic OH MY ABSOLUTE COMPLETE AND UTTER DAYS! Alcaraz nashes in for a drop so obviously Djokovic sends him to the opposite corner. Except he bousts after it and somehow slides and it looks like he’s going to play a tweener, but instead he takes the ball down by his right side and hooks it around his left side for a winner onto the near sideline so unbelievable both players get the giggles; I am in awe. But Alcaraz finds himself fighting for the hold at 40-30, only for Djokovic to miss two chances to end the crucial rally, bashing an overhead long – to his immense frustration.
“That’s one of the best shots I’ve ever seen,” says Calvin Betton, and given he’s a tennis coach, he’s seen a few.
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Alcaraz 3-6 1-1 Djokovic* Another straightforward hold, Djokovic to 15, and I’d not be surprised if he really goes for this next Alcaraz service-game.
“It’s incredible really that in slams,” says James Wilson, “Djokovic coasts till the semis doing just enough to win without taxing himself too much – and only then does he really turn it on, appreciably goes up several gears, when he feels he’s got something to prove (see also Fed in his pomp). Nobody got close to Alcaraz until now, not even Tsitsipas, who’s excellent on clay and a former finalist here. He’s dropped just one set and it was the third set, so without any sense of jeopardy – Djokpvic is just insane. People often call him machine-like as a slur, but really, the most amazing thing is that there is a human behind such insane precision hitting, and such high-stakes play. He makes it look easy. It really isn’t.”
I agree – the way he conjures angles and always knows the precise velocity with which to hit the ball is the work of a maths genius.
*Alcaraz 3-6 1-0 Djokovic I should say, it’s seriously hot out there, and the umpire is – sensibly – deploying a liberal interpretation of the shot-clock. Anyhow, Alcaraz holds easily to forge in front in set two, though I wonder if Djokovic was taking a little breather through that game.
Calv Betton messages again, saying “Djokovic is slowing it right down – high balls so Alcaraz can’t generate pace. He’s also moving him constantly so he can’t plant his feet and unload.”
That’s not totally dissimilar to how Muchova beat Sabalenka yesterday – and imagine how nasty it is trying to handle that when you’ve never, in your pus, faced a player as good as this playing as well as this.
Djokovic takes the first set 6-3!
Alcaraz 3-6 Djokovic* Now then. Alcaraz leaps into a backhand that stands up in the wind, batters it down the line, and Djokovic nets for 0-15. For all the difference it makes. He quickly gets to 30-15, a serve down the T with a forehand behind it, only to deliver a double, his third of the set, and up ratchets the tension and pressure. Thing is, Djokovic is borderline impervious to both, so if Alcaraz wants his break back he’ll have to take it, and a fine return followed by a hellacious forehand allow him to lob … and Djokovic doesn’t even chase it! Advantage Alcaraz … so Plastic Man booms down a blinder of a serve, then another decent one that raises set point, and from there he secures the situation. Brilliant from Djokovic, but Alcaraz is getting closer.
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*Alcaraz 3-5 Djokovic Alcaraz will want a swift hold here but winds up at 30-all, finding a serve out wide that Djokovic can’t return. In the next rally, Djokovic spurns a couple of chances to force deuce just as Alcaraz ignores a couple to secure the game, and when the lob goes up, he nets his overhead; essentially, he’s having to learn, on the fly, what you do when someone this good plays this well, and no number of wins over the rest of the tour will help with that. Nothing can help with that apart from doing it, and even that might be useless. And as I type that, a succession of ripping groundstrokes from Djokovic forces the forehand error and raises set point … well saved with a high-kicking serve out wide and clean-up forehand. From there, Alcaraz serves out, ending the game with a menacing inside-out backhand, meaning Djokovic must now serve for a set he’s dominated.
Alcaraz 2-5 Djokovic* A forehand winner gives Alcaraz his first 0-15; a serve-volley, executed to perfection, quickly disabuses him of any breaking notions he might be harbouring. He does, though, make 15-30, only to dump a backhand unnecessarily; this provokes some chuntering to self, not something we see often, but then he doesn’t often face Novak Djokovic playing like this. Of course, as I type that, Djokovic nets a forehand and gesticulates that it’s the wind – naughty wind – before serving a a double that gives Alcaraz advantage! If he can break back here, that’ll be an almighty win given the relative standards of the two until this point, but after matching Djokovic in the rally, he impatiently tries a drop that lands in the net – though Djokovic framed his first forehand, which felicitously turned into a decent moon-ball. Anyhow, the Serb takes control of the next rally, uncorking a nasty forehand that Alcaraz does well just to get back. Except Djokovic doesn’t do enough with his putaway; well he does against almost anyone else, but yerman is so quick about the court he runs it down and spirits a forehand winner down the line for advantage! Ach, after all that he tamely nets a return then, when Djokovic outlasts him in the next rally, shows yet more unusual emotion – he is not loving this and, let’s be real, is largely unused to that sensation. But he drags the game back to deuce and this might be a pivotal moment of the match, all the more so when Djokovic goes long to cede a third break point; I’m exhausted just watching them. Djokovic, though, dominates the next rally then gives Alcaraz a shot at a pass by following him with the ball when the opposite corner was empty … which he misses, and shortly after is advantage down. So Djokovic prepares to serve, but then the wind kicks up – we’re told that, as a lens-wearer, he’ll feel more vulnerable, when in fact the reverse is so – lumps of plastic in your eyes protect you from things flying into them – and he closes out a 14-minute hold that takes him a game away form the set. Phew!
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*Alcaraz 2-4 Djokovic Alcaraz makes 15-0 with his first ace of the match, but then on 15-all, a stunning backhand return, inside-out from the deuce court, gives Djokovic the advantage. Alcaraz, though, responds well, making 40-30 with a ninja’s forehand then, when Djokovic botches a drive-volley following another stupendous return, he takes the chance to lamps a forehand pass that keeps him in the set. He’s not playing badly, he’s just playing the greatest with a grudge.
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Alcaraz 1-4 Djokovic* Men and boys so far, Djokovic at the top of his game – sorry, the absolute top of his game. He knows the threat Alcaraz poses, won’t have enjoyed someone other than him being the favourite – he’s tennis’s greatest nurturer of injustices since Connors and McEnroe – and consolidates to 30 despite sending down his first double.
*Alcaraz 1-3 Djokovic Lost in the supermarket, Alcaraz wasn’t born as much as he fell out, nobody seemed to notice him eventually opts for a drop … and sends it wide for 0-15. No matter, he makes 30-15 and Mac declares him the best 19-year-old he’s ever seen, though not as good as Becker at 17 and 18. Anyhow, they wind up duking it out at the net, Djokovic somehow wins an exchange he should’ve been out of, and an incredible forehand return – of a good serve – sets up our first break point. Here we go … and have an absolute look! A glooorious drop sees Alcaraz haring to the net, he does an amazing job of simply reaching it but also conjures a fine response that has Djokovic curling the ball around the net-post from by the umpire’s chair. Alcaraz manages to get the ball back, but a tapped then volley bounces into the chasmic space behind him, and that’s the breakthrough! Djokovic raises an arm to the crowd, and well he might; he is steaming hot, like a man with history in his grasp.
Alcaraz 1-2 Djokovic* A terrific forehand from Djokovic, thwacked cross-court and on the run, gets him 15-all, and he’s really hitting the shot with a lot of pop; I reckon he fancies his chances of outhitting Alcaraz, for consistency but perhaps also for power. But after a really good serve down the T, well returned by Alcaraz, he goes for too much and drops long; 30-all. So a serve out wide follows, backed up by a lovely volley into the open space, then a murderous angle, cut obliquely to break the sideline, secures the hold. I think Djokovic has made every first serve so far; he’s certainly settled the sooner.
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*Alcaraz 1-1 Djokovic Djokovic has his head in this match, a succession of forehands making 15-all. But then he hits wide when up in the rally, Alcaraz finds a delicious angle on a whipped forehand, then unfurls a further succession to secure his hold.
Alcaraz 0-1 Djokovic* (denotes server) Djokovic begins with three first serves, Alcaraz able to return none, but just as it looks like the Serb’s forehand is closing out the game, a topspinner down the line makes 15-40; he’s into the match. But then another fine delivery is sent back long, and that’s a very impressive start from the number three seed.
For this to be the match of the tournament, it’ll have to be special, because Muchova v Sabalenka was sensational. But here we go, Djokovic to serve. Play.
Of course, this match is only happening now because Daniil Medvedev won Rome, pushing Djokovic down to number three in the world. However, though I understand why they draw the brackets – to make sure it’s not the same players playing each other every tournament – at majors, I’d always do 1v4 and 2v3 in the semis.
“I’d just like to respond to William’s point",” emails Upender, “and say that while Nadal had to emerge and challenge Federer at his absolute dominant peak, Djokovic had to drag himself up — from being a fairly distant world number 3 — and beat Nadal at his peak. He also saw off a couple of resurgent periods from Federer, 2015 a case in point.”
The way I see it, Federer’s best was better than Nadal’s best – apart from on clay – and Djokovic was and is the hardest player to beat.
Alcaraz just shines with implacable confidence and inner peace. It’s ridiculous.
Our players are ready to emerge, and here they come!
Mac, resplendent in Strokes tee, is leaning Alcaraz – I love how much he already loves him, especially given how easy it’d be for someone of his epochal brilliance to be sniffy – but I, now that you ask, am leaning Djokovic. You can only get ready to play Djokovic in a slam by playing Djokovic in a slam, and though Alcaraz won their sole previous meeting and it was on clay, it finished (5)6-7 7-5 7-6(5). I guess we might argue Alcaraz has improved more since then, but until we see him out there in this situation, we can’t read much into it
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“Am hoping today’s an inflection point in men’s tennis,” tweets Shane Thomas, “but I find it hard to envision Djokovic getting knocked off in a Slam until someone knocks him off.”
Yup, no one beats Djokovic easily, and he’s not been beaten in a major – Rafa in Paris apart – since the final of the US in 2021. It’s true that he’s only played two since then, but he’d also won the three prior to then which, as you say, makes it hard to think hell be beaten until he is.
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So how will this match unfold? Luckily, Calv Betton, our resident coach, messages with analysis I’m about to pass off as my own: “I think it’s down to belief. Alcaraz doesn’t have the scar-tissue of having being duffed by Djokovic for half a decade like all the last generation do. He thinks he can beat him. Tactically Alcaraz will be the aggressor. Djokovic will look to make balls and move him around. It’ll come down to whether Alcaraz can hit through him.”
Email! “I am sure you will be hearing from others about this,” begins William Prudham, “but I think it is problematic for you to simply declare in your preamble to the match today that Novak Djokovic is the greatest male tennis player who ever lived. I am sure you can guess that I disagree but the point is that this is a matter of real debate based on match stats and career achievements. And the debate is not settled, as no doubt you know. There is no need to do that and it is disrespectful to Nadal in particular who had to emerge and challenge Federer when Federer was peak Federer.”
That’s just, like, my opinion, man. I don’t think it’s disrespectful to say that I consider Djokovic greater than Nadal, though I’m sure the big man can cope, but I do think Federer hated playing Djokovic much more than he hated playing Nadal.
Preamble
Salut! And welcome to Roland-Garros 2023 – day 13!
Individual sport is a funny thing: we may have our personal favourites, but in the main players come and go as we move on. Of course, there are those who sustain, often because they come to represent something greater than themselves – Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, Martina Navratilova – or particularly appealing qualities – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray – but in the main, our obsession is with the thing itself, so anything that augments its overall glory gets us going.
Take today’s first semi-final, for example. Most of us watching won’t much care who wins, yet all of us watching are embarrassingly invested in how that winning comes about, buzzing at the prospect and exercising all that remains of our feeble brains to try and predict how it’s going to go.
Novak Djokovic is the greatest male tennis player who ever lived. He might not have John McEnroe’s feel, Pete Sampras’ serve, Roger Federer’s beauty or Rafael Nadal’s forehand, but if you asked any of those who they’d feel least confident about beating, chances are they’d answer him. There is simply no antidote to his combination of elasticity, consistency and composure, which is one reason he’ll end his career out on his own – potentially waaaay out on his own – as the, er, most winningest man of all time.
But maybe not for long, because – and yes I know exactly how ridiculous this sounds – of Carlos Alcaraz. True, one of them has 22 majors and the other just one, taken in a tournament missing Djokovic. But make no mistake, we’re watching the growth of an all-time great, and one unlikely to spend most of his career battling two other all-time greats and another near all-time great for the four Slams on offer each year.
Even at 20, Alcaraz is the complete player – far more so than was Djokovic, who won his first biggun at 21 but didn’t grab them regularly until 27. He knows exactly how good his all-court game is and attacks every match like he expects to win, but also like he must deserve to win, a gorgeous combination of superiority and intensity. He is a joke.
And that’s just our first match! Then when it’s through, we get to enjoy Casper Ruud v Alexander Zverev, on the face of things a fight to decide who loses the final. Except sport doesn’t work like that – and nor do the individuals who play it. On y va!
Play: not before 2.45pm local, 1.45pm BST
Updated
