Djokovic in final after a long time but the Alcaraz challenge seems insurmountable
Djokovic had looked in great touch all through the season last year, but a young Alcaraz dashed his party on his way to a second grand slam win.
Djokovic vs Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Sounds familiar? Yes, it happened last year as well, and against all odds Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz beat the Serb in a five-setter to stun one and all in the tennis fraternity.
It was the only grand slam that Djokovic didn't win last year. He had looked in great touch all through the season and was tipped as hot favourite to win all four grand slams, but a young Alcaraz dashed his party on his way to a second grand slam win.
Once again both the players will be at each other's throat this coming Sunday. Things haven't been the same since last year's Wimbledon final. That time Alcaraz went into the showdown with weaker prospects. It's totally the other way around this time.
Alcaraz has got much better since that triumph. He has added another grand slam trophy to his cabinet thanks to his French Open win last month. He has improved so much so that it has not been that hard for Spanish fans to move on from Rafael Nadal whose career injuries have now ruined for sure.
Djokovic, on the other hand, has had an underwhelming season. When the season began, he was expected to sweep through all the major events. Last year with his win at the US Open -- his 24th grand slam trophy -- he had equalled Margaret Court's record for most grand slam singles wins in tennis. He looked in great shape and nobody suspected his world will turn upside down in 2024.
This is the first final Djokovic is playing this year. Can you believe that? Forget grand slams, he has not won even a lesser tournament this year and we are into mid-July. Injuries have also struck him this year. He had to pull out of his French Open quarterfinal last month owing to a knee injury. He subsequently underwent surgery, and nobody had expected this miraculous return to the court in so little time.
Previously leading up to the Australian Open in January where he lost to eventual champions Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, he had wrist issues. At Indian Wells, he lost to lucky loser Luca Nardi, a 123rd ranked player at the time. Shortly after he parted ways with his coach and former tennis star Goran Ivanisevic. As you can see, things have not been great for the 37-year-old in recent months.
But this is what Djokovic does, surprise you when you least expect. Just like that, when everybody was waiting for a Nadal like tragedy to unfold, he is in a grand slam final. He was imperious against Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinal and dispatched the Italian in straight sets.
There is so much at stake for him. He can very well avenge his defeat last year. Apart from that, he is one win away from equalling Roger Federer's eight Wimbledon wins. But the biggest of them all will be going past Court and become the first player in tennis history to win 25 singles grand slam titles.
But don't for a moment think, it's there for the taking. Djokovic knows it too. Post his semifinal win, he praised Alcaraz in a big way. “He's one of the greatest 21-year-olds we've ever seen and we're going to see a lot of him in the future, no doubt. He's going to win many Grand Slams, but hopefully not in two days. He can do it when I retire.”
Clearly, Djokovic knows it will take a lot to take down Alcaraz. His comments on Alcaraz have also given away that he is not planning to be around for long. The retirement thing is somehow at the back of his mind.
The Olympics will kick off later this month in Paris and a gold medal is the only accomplishment he has not achieved to date. So, beating Alcaraz on Sunday can go a long way towards ticking that box. But can he do so? That’s the question. A match of a lifetime is loading indeed.