Djokovic: ‘Complete’ Alcaraz has greatest expertise of me, Federer and Nadal
World No1 Alcaraz clinched his second Grand Slam title in epic style on the All England Club on Sunday, bouncing again from a first-set wipeout to clinch an epic five-set victory in a titanic tussle that lasted for nearly 5 hours on Centre Court.
As effectively as including to his US Open crown claimed final 12 months and additional underlining his standing as the subsequent celebrity of males’s tennis, Alcaraz additionally grew to become the primary participant to beat Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon for a decade.
Djokovic, who had not did not win Wimbledon since 2017, will even have to attend longer to attempt to lastly full a calendar Grand Slam, whereas he additionally fell simply brief in his quest to match Roger Federer’s document haul of eight males’s titles at SW19 and Margaret Court’s all-time main mark of 24 Grand Slam triumphs.
It was a marked distinction from the final assembly between the pair within the French Open semi-finals final month, when eventual champion Djokovic breezed by the ultimate two units at Roland Garros after the unlucky Alcaraz was beset by cramp.
Afterward their Wimbledon basic, the Serbian revealed his perception that his new rival has all the very best attributes of the well-known ‘Big Three’ of males’s tennis.
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal], and myself,” he stated. “I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically best of all three worlds.
“He’s got this mental resilience and really maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It’s quite impressive. He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defense that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years.
“And I think he’s got some nice sliding backhands that he’s got some similarities with my backhands. Yeah, two-handed backhands, defence, being able to adapt. I think that has been my personal strength for many years. He has it, too.
“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger and Rafa have their own obviously strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces.”
The proven fact that Alcaraz, who additionally gained the Queen’s Club title in June, has risen so swiftly on grass this 12 months was even a shock to the man himself, with Wimbledon solely his fourth match on the floor.
Asked if he was stunned that the Spaniard was already beating him to titles on each clay and grass, Djokovic stated: “To clay, no, I’m not surprised because he grew up on clay. His game is obviously suited and developed for clay, probably slower hard courts.
“But, yeah, grass, I must say he surprised me. He surprised everyone how quickly he adapted to grass this year. He hasn’t had too many wins on grass in the last two years that he played. Obviously him coming from clay, having the kind of style that he has.
“I think Queen’s helped him a lot. He was close to lose that first match, opening match, in Queen’s. Then he started to gain momentum, more and more wins against really good players.
“Wimbledon courts are slower than Aorangi courts or maybe Queen’s courts. It’s more suitable for I guess the baseliners like he is.
Carlos Alcaraz has the potential to become one of the world’s biggest sporting superstars
/ Getty Images“I must say the slices, the kind of chipping returns, the net play, it’s very impressive. I didn’t expect him to play so well this year on grass, but he’s proven that he’s the best player in the world, no doubt. He’s playing some fantastic tennis on different surfaces and he deserves to be where he is.”
With Federer retired and Nadal planning to comply with go well with subsequent 12 months amid extra damage woes, many will hope that Alcaraz vs Djokovic now has the makings of the game’s subsequent nice rivalry.
And whereas the 36-year-old Djokovic admits that he doesn’t know the way for much longer he has left on the high degree, he’s already eyeing swift revenge over Alcaraz on the US Open, which begins at Flushing Meadows on August 28.
“I would hope [this is going to be the start of a big rivalry], for my sake,” he stated. “He’s going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don’t know how long I’ll be around.
“Yeah, I mean, let’s see. It’s been only three matches that we played against each other. Three really close matches. Two already this year in later stages of Grand Slams.
“Yeah, I hope we get to play in the US Open. Why not? I think it’s good for the sport, 1 and 2 in the world facing each other in almost a five-hours, five-set thriller. Couldn’t be better for our sport in general, so why not?”