Carlos Alcaraz’s 2nd Slam signals bigger things
London, July 17
Novak Djokovic knows a thing or two about the talents and intangibles required to win big matches against the best players.
He’s been in 35 Grand Slam finals. He’s won 23 of them. He played Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer a total of 109 times, with head-to-head edges against both. He went 9-5 against them in title matches at Majors.
So it seemed only natural to ask Djokovic to whom he’d compare the new star of men’s tennis — Carlos Alcaraz — after losing to him across five sets and more than four and a half hours brimming with brilliant play and dramatic moments in the Wimbledon final on Sunday.
“People have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa and myself. I would agree with that,” Djokovic began, the bitterness of the 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 defeat, and the end of his reign at the All England Club, still sharp. “I think he’s got basically (the) best of all three worlds,” Djokovic said.
Left there, that would stand out as a rather striking endorsement of the precocious Alcaraz, a Spaniard who won the US Open last year and now is one of just five men to collect multiple Grand Slam trophies before turning 21.
Then Djokovic got into specifics. “He’s got this mental resilience and, really, maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It’s quite impressive,” said Djokovic, who had won Wimbledon four years in a row and seven times in all. “He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defence that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years,” he said.
With a smile, Djokovic tacked on what he sees of himself in the youngster. “He’s got some nice sliding backhands that (have) some similarities with my backhands. Two-handed backhands. Defence. Being able to adapt. That has been my personal strength for many years,” he said.
When the gist of that assessment was relayed to the No. 1-ranked Alcaraz, his eyes widened and he exhaled under the white bucket hat that became his trademark news conference accessory. Alcaraz was asked how he would describe himself.
“It’s crazy that Novak (would) say that, honestly. But I consider myself a really complete player. I think I have the shots, the strength physically, mentally, enough to (handle) these situations,” Alcaraz said. “Probably he’s right. But I don’t want to think about it. … I’m full Carlos Alcaraz.” — AP
Vondrousova shoots to No. 10
Carlos Alcaraz held onto No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday by virtue of his victory over No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, and Marketa Vondrousova’s first Grand Slam title pushed her all the way up to a career-high No. 10 on the WTA list.
Alcaraz needs new rivals for a new era
Novak Djokovic was still trying to digest the loss of his Wimbledon crown to Carlos Alcaraz when one reporter asked him whether Sunday’s clash was the start of a great rivalry. The irony was not lost on Djokovic who, despite still operating at his peak, is 36-years-old and in sight of the end of his record-shredding career. “I would hope so, for my sake,” the Serb said. “He’s going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don’t know how long I’ll be around.”
The reality, however, is that world No. 1 Alcaraz could be left without a serious rival, certainly amongst the current Next Gen brigade who appear a long way behind the Spanish phenomenon.
Italian Jannik Sinner, 21, beat Alcaraz at last year’s Wimbledon but has reached only one Grand Slam semifinal so far, losing to Djokovic in straight sets last week. Denmark’s new world No. 4 Holger Rune, 20, has the game and personality to form a rivalry with his former junior sparring partner Alcaraz.
And for the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev — players who were supposed to have filled the void after the ‘Big Three’ — they have watched Alcaraz zoom by them. Reuters
