Novak Djokovic’s days of winning Grand Slam titles may be over, according to Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni.
Alcaraz stamped his authority as the new king of grass courts by beating Djokovic for the second year in a row to retain his Wimbledon men’s singles title.
After a five-set classic 12 months ago that saw Djokovic dethroned as the king of Centre Court, here it was all over in just two hours and 27 minutes as Alcaraz overcame a late wobble to claim a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (4) victory.
The 21-year-old Spaniard becomes just the second man in the open era after Roger Federer to win his first four Grand Slam finals, while he has outdone the great Swiss, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal by reaching that landmark before his 22nd birthday.
Former US Open champion Andy Roddick suggested he was bemused by Djokovic’s tactics in the final, while four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman described the Alcaraz win as an ‘annihilation’ as he ripped the seven-time champion apart on a Centre Court he has made his own.
Now Nadal’s uncle and long-time coach Toni has waded into the debate, as he suggested in an El Pais column that the real rivalry at the top of the men’s game is now between Alcaraz and world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
“I can imagine the doubts that Novak and his entire team had when approaching the match,” wrote Nadal.
The decision was not easy. It is the same one that is presented to many players and teams when they face a superior opponent. How do we approach the meeting?
“Do we face it with our usual weapons and our own style or, on the contrary, do we try to neutralise our rival by looking for other solutions, moving away from our characteristic game?
Personally, I always chose the first. Djokovic opted for the second alternative. Knowing that neither his legs nor the precision of his blows are what they used to be and that a long and physical match would not favour him either, he tried a tactic that in the end proved suicidal.
“He wanted to impose a high pace, play aggressively, shorten the exchanges from the back of the court and at the slightest opportunity, close the points on the net.
“In my opinion, the only option the Serbian had was to try to slow down the game. To hope that he was completely right and to trust that Carlos was not having his best day.
“Trying to beat the player from Murcia by speed is practically impossible nowadays. Perhaps only Jannik Sinner can play the Spaniard on equal terms. Probably, in the next few years will be between these two: the Italian and our great Spanish champion.”
Djokovic will argue that he was not at his best physically after undergoing knee surgery on June 5, but we have not seen this great champion bullied on a tennis court like he was against Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
The duo could meet at the Olympic Games in Paris on a clay court, with Alacarz the firm favourite to take the gold medal for Spain after he also lifted the French Open title at the Ronald Garros venue that will host the Olympics last month.
