“Really glad to be at the same table as Novak to do it,” Carlos Alcaraz declared after his Wimbledon victory, joining the elite group that had won multiple slam titles in the same calendar year. Winning against the GOAT-in-waiting Novak Djokovic twice at the All England Tennis Club is indeed a work of art. But Carlitos has mastered it with his expertise in tennis by pulling back Djokovic from attaining his eighth title in London. It’s pretty neat, isn’t it? Roger Federer’s ex-coach, Ivan Ljubicic, is of a similar opinion too. Ljubicic’s take on Djokovic’s recent slump throws a wrench into the whole narrative.
With an extra layer of disadvantage working on his side, Djokovic, who came into the tournament after recovering from a torn meniscus surgery, faced a defeat at the hands of his 21-year-old opponent by 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4). Even he could not deny the formidable force of the four-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz. “He had it all today. I tried to push him, save the three match points, and extend the match a little bit but it wasn’t meant to be. He was an absolutely deserved winner today so congratulations to him,” Djokovic said after the match.
“I need everything he tells me from the box, and it’s really helpful to give my 100% on the court,” Alcaraz firmly stated about his coach earlier. Clearly, he knows his game quite well. However, such is not the case for Djokovic, who acted as a lone warrior to propel himself forward in the game. Speaking on this major difference in their approach, Federer’s ex-coach stated, “Carlos was unplayable. Novak lacked reaction. He never looked at his box. And it’s difficult to play against Carlos like that.”
The 37-year-old tennis player recently called it quits on working with his seven-year coach, Goran Ivanisevic, and temporarily joined hands with Boris Bosnjakovic at the French Open. However, the Serbian tennis star couldn’t get past the quarterfinals in the red clay event because of his knee injuries. Now his Wimbledon record is also not showing the best results. Naturally, apart from his lack of form, the question of the need for guidance to keep up his performance is not unusual.
But on the other side, Alcaraz is undeniably enjoying his best season this year, with two back-to-back grand slams in his bucket. In his clash against Djokovic, Alcaraz established a lead over him from the very start. He kept Djokovic guessing where the ball might hit, slowly closing in on him, with his amazing drop shots and powerful forehand strokes. When the game was at 6-2, 2-0, Djokovic could only acquire four points among his 14 approaches to the net.
Hinting at this intimidating challenge posed by Carlitos, Ljubicic alluded to the importance of guidance from the player’s box to fight back in this situation. Besides Alcaraz’s current coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, has also shared his perspective after watching Djokovic’s gameplay at Wimbledon.
Ferrero criticized Djokovic’s form at Wimbledon
“Growth has to be there. We have to keep going. I think that now, at 21, you can’t stop growing,” said Ferrero, who has been guiding Alcaraz for over six years now. But when it came to describing his opponent’s performance, the former French Open champion expressed his surprise on the subject.
“I was a little surprised by Djokovic’s level today. I think he felt outclassed from the start. It was hard for him to keep up with Carlos’ pace and ball speed. It’s true that last year he was better, maybe this year, not being at 100%, it was a little harder for him,” he said.
