With 24 Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic is the most prolific player in men’s tennis history. So it’s not often he finds himself in the position he was in on Sunday, standing at Centre Court to give what had the feel of a concession after falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final in five sets.
When asked to reflect on the road that led him to this result, Djokovic was a class act, looking back on his many memorable matches and offering deference to the 20-year-old phenom by paying an enormous compliment just moments after a heartbreaking defeat.
“I’ve been blessed with so many incredible matches throughout my career. This is just another one in the history books for me,” Djokovic said. “So I’m really, really grateful, even though, of course, I did not win today, but I lost to a better player and I have to congratulate him and move on stronger, hopefully.”
