Tennis enthusiasts, commentators, and writers have long pondered the next generation of players and argued about when they would start to displace legends like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray.
Murray is considering his options for the future, Nadal will follow Federer in retirement next year, and Djokovic is outlasting them all, but he is still going strong. On Centre Court on Sunday, where he has not lost in a decade, it would take an extraordinary, once-in-a-generation talent to defeat him.
Step forward Carlos Alcaraz. The legendary John McEnroe believes the 20-year-old Spanish world No.1 is better than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray when they were his age and he has tweaked his game to make himself a force on grass.
Make no mistake, Djokovic is the heavy favourite and after becoming the first player ever to reach 35 Grand Slam finals, it is probable that he will lift a record-extending 24th major trophy, in what would be his eighth Wimbledon title.
But Alcaraz will be doing everything he can to stop Djokovic from equalling Federer for the most Wimbledon men’s singles titles ever in his first final at the Championships, after registering his maiden major trophy at last year’s US Open.
Here are three things the Queen’s Club champion can do to beat Djokovic when the duo meet in the 136th Wimbledon final at the All England Club on Sunday…
Be on the same level mentally
There are not many players who can compete with Djokovic physically, even less than can match his mental ability.
Alcaraz admits that the mental side of his game cost him when he lost to Djokovic in the French Open semi-final last month, with severe cramp brought on by the stress and nervousness of playing the Serbian legend in such a big match.
But Alcaraz is adamant that he has learnt from that experience and that things will be different when he locks horns with Djokovic again – revealing on Friday that he is working on new mental exercises before the match – one in which that he plans to trick himself into ‘forgetting’ that he is playing the seven-time champion.
‘I have a psychologist that I have worked with since the beginning of 2020,’ Alcaraz said. ‘She helps me a lot. I will talk with her how to prepare the match, that[is an] important moment for me, it is not going to be easy. But I’ll talk with her.’
Avoid a tie-break at all costs
Djokovic does not lose tie-breaks. He was remarkably won his last 15 at Grand Slams, most recently in the semi-final win over Jannik Sinner, while in his fourth-round victory over Hubert Hurkacz, the 36-year-old took the record for the most Grand Slam tie-breaks won in a single year.
‘I think the longer the streak goes, I guess mentally the more resilient or tougher I am in these situations,’ Djokovic said. ‘Coming into every tie-break now, I feel I think more comfortable than my opponent just because of the record. I think that my opponents also know about that record. That mentally makes a difference.’
It means that Alcaraz will have to play with more risk and do everything he can to break his opponent, while remaining faultless on serve. The young Spaniard admits that Djokovic has ‘no weakness’ but can cause him problems if he combines his solid groundstrokes with his dangerous and highly-rated drop shot.
Alcaraz must make the most of his stamina and on-court movement too and also cut down on unforced errors, making a total of 183 compared to Djokovic’s 118, including 23 double faults, which he must reduce if he wants to come out on top.
Don’t make Djokovic angry
If there is one thing we know about Djokovic it is that he feeds off a crowd, particularly a negative one.
The Centre Court crowd love an underdog and it can be expected that they will be mostly behind Alcaraz, just as they were with Sinner in Friday’s semi-final.
During that clash in the last four, Djokovic got fired up when spectators loudly cheered Sinner getting to set point, with one fan trolling him by shouting out ‘come on Rafa’ in reference to his rival Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic impressively saved both set points before turning around to shout at the crowd and as he was loudly booed, he wiped away a fake tear.
It is important for Alcaraz to not make Djokovic angry where possible, and try to stop him from using the crowd to his advantage if it becomes an emotive match.
If Alcaraz can combine those three things, he will have a chance of winning the Wimbledon final.
But it must be said, only a mad man would bet against Djokovic, who is looking to lift his fifth Wimbledon title in a row.
‘I do have more experience playing in many more Grand Slam or Wimbledon finals than him,’ Djokovic added. ‘Still he’s in great shape. He’s very motivated. He’s young. He’s hungry. I’m hungry, too, so let’s have a feast (smiling).’