The Wimbledon men’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic put on a showcase of men’s tennis at its finest, as the top-two ranked players in the world slugged out a Wimbledon classic over 5 sets, with the eyes of the entire world on them.
While the upcoming young challenger Alcaraz would prevail in the 5th set, signalling that he has arrived on the biggest stage, Djokovic’s dreams of making a tilt at the calendar year grand slam were dashed. The Serb has won nearly all there is to win: he has won every Grand Slam at least thrice, every Masters 1000 event at least thrice, and achieved the most weeks at world number one.
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The only holes in his otherwise immaculate record are the calendar year grand slam and an Olympic gold. Having celebrated his 36th birthday, many tennis fans have been left to wonder what is next for Djokovic, and how he can keep motivating himself following the retirement of Roger Federer, the imminent retirement of Rafael Nadal, and the achievement of the Grand Slam record with his 23rd win at Roland Garros.
‘Don’t think it’s the end of the Djokovic era’
However, the same concerns are not shared by a man who has worked in close proximity with the Serb. His former coach, German legend Boris Becker, spoke out about where he sees Djokovic going after the heartbreak of the Wimbledon final.
“I don’t think it’s the end of the Djokovic era, and I hope not, because that was an excellent example of how a tennis match should be,” said Becker on Eurosport’s ‘Das Gelbe vom Ball’ podcast. “We won millions of new fans thanks to that, and I hope they can repeat that in New York or Melbourne. I don’t think Djokovic will stop performing.”
Djokovic was attempting to win a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, and matching Roger Federer’s record of eight in the men’s tournament. He fell agonizingly short, losing only his second-ever Wimbledon final, exactly a decade on from his first.
Djokovic looked in tremendous form throughout the tournament and Alcaraz needed to be at his best to overcome the Serb. This is an indication, in Becker’s eyes, that Djokovic is still hungry for more success.
‘What keeps Djokovic going?’
“The question is about motivation: what keeps Djokovic going? Yes, certainly on the 24th [Grand Slam], then he would be the best along with Margaret Court as far as ‘majors’ are concerned. He already is in the men’s category, but of course he wants to be in the general,” said the German, who was Djokovic’s coach during the Serb’s incredible 2015-2016 ‘Serena Slam’ season, winning 4 slam titles in a row across those two years.
Djokovic will see this loss as another missed opportunity at a calendar year grand slam, which has only been achieved by Rod Laver and Steffi Graf. The Serb had won the first three slams of the year in 2021 and reached the US Open final, but was uncharacteristically poor as he lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev. This match against Alcaraz had echoes of that haunting loss.
Despite coming on in years, Djokovic remains one of the fittest and most athletic players on the tour, and will remain a contender at every major tournament he enters. Alcaraz, who now possesses a winning record against the Serb, seems to have the answers against him, but very few players on tour seem to otherwise.
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