Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz Garfia on Sunday won his first-ever ATP title on a grass court at the main leadup event to the Wimbledon 2023, i.e Queen’s. The win was significant as it made him return to being World No.1 in the ATP rankings, overtaking the 23-time Grand Slam winner, Novak Djokovic. Fascinatingly, it was these two men who clashed recently in the 2023 French Open semi-final at the Roland Garros. With Alcaraz struggling physically, Djokovic made the most of the opportunity to win the penultimate clash, which eventually took him to a record-breaking Championship title.
The ATP Tour’s official Twitter page congratulated the Spaniard for his achievements, hailing him as the new ‘King’ of the game. However, the tennis community seems to be largely divided with this take on this on social media. Some are backing Carlos Alcaraz to remain a deserving World No.1 and beat Novak Djokovic at the upcoming Wimbledon 2023 Championships to win the title. On the other hand, some are calling it too soon to apparently ‘hyping up’ the young prodigy in comparison to Djokovic’s admirable consistency and versatility since years.
Carlos Alcaraz’s win in Queen’s gets the tennis world buzzing
Many in the tennis community believe it to be unfair that Alcaraz was able to retake the pole position in the rankings from Djokovic given the fact that the Serbian did not get any ranking points from his win at last year’s Wimbledon.
Here are some of the reactions of some of the game’s ardent enthusiasts –
However, Alcaraz found a lot of encouragement as many are anticipating a special performance from him at the Wimbledon 2023 –
Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic: The next big rivalry in men’s tennis?
Having won the Wimbledon Championships since the last 5 years, Novak Djokovic might be the overwhelming favourite to clinch a record 8th title at the All England Club. However, with Carlos Alcaraz’s rise, he is widely being tipped as perhaps the only potential challenger to Djokovic’s might on grass. Both the players have only faced each other twice so far in their careers. Alcaraz famously won their first encounter in Madrid in 2022, as the Spaniard also went on to clinch the iconic clay court title.
If the history of the Wimbledon is anything to go by, it is remarkable that outside the ‘Big 4’, i.e., Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, the last champion was way back in 2002, i.e. Lleyton Hewitt. What’s even more astonishing is that Carlos Alcaraz wasn’t even born then, showing that conquering grass has been out of bounds especially for the younger generation of players.
With Federer retired, Nadal out of action, Murray not directly qualifying and Djokovic possibly nursing an elbow injury, will Carlos Alcaraz end their dominance and announce a power shift in world tennis? The chances are good but time will eventually tell.
