Carlos Alcaraz is said to be the only potential challenger to Novak Djokovic’s might in Grand Slams currently. The 20-year-old is in the form of his life, especially on grass as he is on a 11-match winning streak which began with his first grass title win at Queen’s in the leadup to the Wimbledon Championships.
Sunday’s Wimbledon 2023 men’s singles final will be the second time in a space of 2 months this year itself which will see Carlos Alcaraz take on Novak Djokovic. And Carlos Alcaraz has something to fall back on ahead of the summit clash, as he will take out all the intelligence he can from his previous experience. He is also one of the few young players to beat Djokovic in his first encounter with him.
Carlos Alcaraz drew first blood in rivalry against Novak Djokovic
The first time these two met, it was in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters on clay last year. Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic’s coach and 2001 Wimbledon champion, claimed recently that around that time, his star pupil was not in the best frame of mind. While it could be perceived as just an excuse to losing, the reason given for that claim is the Australian Open 2022 fiasco which resulted in Djokovic being thrown out of the country due to being unvaccinated and paperwork regarding the same.
Nevertheless, the then 19-year-old Alcaraz, whose profile wasn’t as big as it is now, stunned the world by beating Novak Djokovic, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 in three gruelling and competitive sets across 3 hours and 35 minutes. He was quoted as saying to the ATP Tour –
“I don’t know what the difference [between us] was. It was so close. He had the chances to break my serve at the end of the second set. In the first set as well it was so close in the tie-break.”
In that match, Alcaraz succeeded in keeping Djokovic to the back of the court with one fast forehand after another. Playing an aggressive game and using the drop shots effectively helped the Spaniard in blocking the Serbian’s attack as well as employing his own tactics with each point. In fact, the youngster topped the veteran in terms of scoring from offensive positions (72%) and defensive positions (41%) as well. To top it all, Alcaraz’s holding of serve in that match helped him vastly as two out of the three sets went in tiebreaks.
It is all these favorable aspects that the now World No.1 Alcaraz has in fact improved on at the Wimbledon Championships, which cannot make him an underdog for sure despite Djokovic’s sublime form. Although Djokovic did make it 1-1 in their head-to-head against Alcaraz in the French Open 2023 semi-final, it was largely since the Spaniard was playing due to an injury.
Mindset the key for Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon 2023 Final
After his semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz said in the post-match interview that “This is not the time to be afraid since it is the final and I am ready for Sunday.” Many players in recent times, courtesy to some extent with the words they have used for Djokovic, have not been able to get past him despite being much younger than him.
However, with his versatile game and positive mindset, Alcaraz seems to be cut from a different cloth than his much experienced competitors. He has never derided Djokovic, which has made the Serbian out of mutual respect, himself believe that Alcaraz is hungry for success as much as he is, which will make the final a ‘feast’.
Perhaps, Alcaraz can take a cue from his idol Roger Federer and his fellow countryman, Rafael Nadal when it comes to beating Novak Djokovic in Grand Slams. Playing each point to its merit and having the stamina to battle it out with the same intensity in 5 sets will hold the key for the Spaniard’s success on Sunday.
