Wimbledon got its dream matchup. No offense to world No.1 Jannik Sinner, but this rematch from last year’s final is the most fitting finale.
Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat of Novak Djokovic in an epic five-setter here last year officially began the changing of the guard in men’s tennis.
Novak was at the peak of his powers, nearly 3/4 of the way to a coveted calendar slam, competing on a court he had won seven Wimbledon championships on. A court that he literally eats.
Alcaraz had never been to this stage of Wimbledon. He had no business excelling on grass at that stage of his career.
But Alcaraz was unphased. Not by the occasion, the setting, the inexperience, or the legendary opponent. He went toe to toe with Novak and won the match on his terms. Novak did not play poorly or choke or miss opportunities. Alcaraz beat him, mano a mano.
Alcaraz’s excellence that day even surprised Novak. After the match, he said he didn’t expect Alcaraz to be that good on grass yet.
The Serbian went on to win the U.S. Open, meaning he was only a matter of games from winning the calendar slam that year. Alcaraz proved his foil.
Djokovic has had a poor season by his standards this year. This is his first Slam final, and he’s doing it on a knee that underwent surgery barely five weeks ago. The knee was touch-and-go early in the fortnight, but appears to be solid now even though his continues to wear a brace.
Alcaraz’s knees are 21-years-old. They’re squeaky clean.
Match Breakdown
There will be offense. Lots of offense.
There will be defense. Lots of defense.
There will be fist pumps and roars and vamoses. Screams and slides and highlights. Speed and precision and athleticism.
Alcaraz and Djokovic are as complete as players come. It’s hard to give either man a significant edge over the other.
Djokovic knows what’s at stake. 25 majors. The all-time record. He wants it and he knows his opportunities are running out. He has more self-belief and hunger than any player the game has seen, and he will lean into that as hard as he can on Sunday.
The thing he has been missing this season is motivation. His lifelong rivals are all but gone and he’s accomplished nearly everything possible in this sport, leaving him searching for reasons to grind every day.
But here he is. Almost accidentally, he’s on the doorstep of the record 25th major that looked like it might elude him with the rise of Alcaraz and Sinner. All he has to do is put it all together one more time and that mountain will finally be conquered. And as a bonus he will have done it against the man who cracked his armor a year ago. A man he also likes and respects, and he knows he will permanently pass the torch to in the near future.
Alcaraz has different motivations. They’re pretty simple: keep having fun and trying to get better.
It’s funny, he seems like he still doesn’t know how good he is. He plays the game like a child, carefree and experimental.
He will be thrilled to win, but in no way would he be devastated if he lost. He’s already bagged three majors, one on each surface. He’s undefeated in Slam finals, so technically he has a better winning percentage in Slam finals than Djokovic.
That bears context, of course, as Djokovic is entering his 37th Slam final.
24 out of 36 is okay. 25 out of 37 is better.
Winner: Novak Djokovic
