[Mik]

I feel like Novak has some reserve levels always available when playing against the next gen. He is mostly cruising along and stepping it up when required.
Father time has nothing on him, his principal rivals are retired or injured, the next gen can't keep up with him physically - let alone skills.
His truly worthy opponents in the last few years have been line judges getting hurt, Australian politics, USA and its vaccine mandates, the weight of history and Nadal at Roland Garros.
The scary part is - he has room for improvement. Over last few years the serve has been getting better, he is venturing out inside the court for volleys and he is keeping points shorter. What he still probably can improve in next few years - the overhead smash, the cute crowd pleasing tweener and maybe PR.
That's it.
#GOAT

[kavensri]

Just like Fed and Nadal, even Novak has been careful with his scheduling to be fit for the majors.
I do not see anyone from the current-gen/next-gen competing with him in the best-of-five sets.
They may beat him in other tournaments, but not in majors.
With Nadal scheduled to get retired next year (and my guess is, he will play one last French open and then retire), Novak will be overwhelming favourite in every major that he plays for next couple of years, including next year French open.
Unless he has a major injury, he can easily win minimum of 4 more majors. Then, I don’t think that record will be beaten in my lifetime.

[deathwalkr]

Statistically he is #1 with 23 slams and pretty sure he will add more to that in the next few years.

A well balanced player he confidently wins matches even after losing the first set so many times.

I admit i am no fan of him compared to Rafa or Federer and in my humble miniscule opinion, when people say tennis my mind would imagine Federer, Rafa and Djokovic only a third.

But hey that's just me

Congrats to him and his team/family. This record will stand for a long time looking at the list of current gen players.

[Emvi]

Although I am not exactly in complete agreement with the author's views, I found the write-up quite interesting.

Source- The Guardian

You might say the greatest of all time is determined by a hypothetical, namely who would have beaten whom at their peaks. But people’s tennis games match up differently. It could be that Federer at his peak would beat Djokovic at his peak, who in turn would beat Nadal at his peak, and yet also be true that Nadal would beat Federer! Actually, it could be that Kyrgios at his peak would beat any of these players at their peaks, yet this would not make Kyrgios the greatest of all time.

I think that the greatest tennis player of all time, if we can make sense of this notion, is some function of who, at their peak, would consistently beat the other candidate greats at their peaks, on a variety of different surfaces. A huge factor here is going to be mentality. A common characteristic of “the big three” (Federer, Djokovic and Nadal) is their ability to play the important points well and to stay mentally tough. In the end, the greatest might come down just to this factor: mental toughness. It is unclear who is best in this regard.

Full Article

[fhdowntheline]

As an avid tennis fan since childhood ( 1981 Borg McEnroe Wimbledon final onwards), I guess I have seen enough pro tennis to comment. I think the above article is good except that the answer to the question of mental toughness was given emphatically by Djoker when he defeated Nadal in the 2012 AO final, an encounter of incredible physical and emotional vagaries that would make any sportsman worth his salt , beg for mercy. He is the toughest mental player followed closely by Nadal. Federer has the most aesthetically pleasing game, but Djokovic has beaten him in most slam encounters during crucial situations. As a tennis player, he is the greatest at this time and will be regarded so for the next few decades probably. I will revisit this if Nadal manages to have a last hurrah in 2024, but its a big IF.

[PreludeSH]

About a decade ago with Federer and Nadal at peak, there were other players who won a couple of grand slams in the second rung. They were also surprising the top players sometimes.

Today its almost absent. For the last 5 years, there have been no good players outside of the 3. This has contributed to Djokovic catching up easily over the older Federer and Nadal who is not that great on hard courts. Federer already had 16 slams when Djokovic was still at 1. The timing and the not so good other players (especially on the mental aspect) have all come together.

He is also a great player and mentally the best after some sort of reboot he applied to himself

[HTC]

Wimbledon 2013

Tomorrow's men's final between Djokovic and Alcaraz is going to be interesting. Rank1 vs rank2. Old guard vs new blood.

Alcaraz is amazing on court. He is riding on high confidence and fully pumped up. But Djokovic cant be dismissed. He has seen so many finals and takes the fight till the last serve of the match. Excited for the match.

[bijims]

It's going to be a great final and I am rooting for Djokovic to win it!

[Emvi]

Wimbledon 2023

Carlos Alcaraz lifts the Wimbledon crown after a slugfest with Novak Djokovic! What a match! Not for nothing is the young Spaniard the world's No.1 player.

[Chetan_Rao]

You try an ace on second serve to go 5-3 in the 5th, then try a second drop shot after netting one, when serving for the match, you deserve whatever happens next!

Nerves you could serve frozen desserts in! What a fantastic young man.

[libranof1987]

What an absolutely thrilling final!

A terrific comeback from Alcaraz after being 5-0 and then 6-1 down in the first set. There were glimpses of Nadal in Alcaraz' game yesterday; the sheer tenacity and relentless energy, running across the court ensuring every chance was taken.

If you get into the 5th set, you can be reasonably sure Djokovic will win it; he's just got crazy nerves! But Alcaraz prevailed last night in stunning fashion.

- Alcaraz is the youngest male World No. 1
- He's the first non-Fab 4 (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray) to win at Wimbledon since 2002!
- He broke Djokovic's unbeaten run at Wimbledon since 2017

On a different note: Djokovic might break every record there is to break in tennis, he might win every trophy there is to win, but the one thing he might never win is the love of the Wimbledon crowd. The crowd will just about support anyone but him. For better or for worse, thankfully, Djokovic seems to have made peace with it. At least on the face of it.

[deathwalkr]

What a great final it turned out to be! After the disastrous French open final, this was an amazing game of tennis! When it was going to the 5th set, i was so sure that Novak will win it but oh man was i proven wrong! And Carlos is just 20yrs old Now who can challenge him after Novak is retired?

[HTC]

It was a fitting final.

Both baseline players. I was rooting for djoker as well. If only Djokovic didnt lose his confidence and pressed a little more, He could have won this final. His fore handers were not working.as expected and he started doubting on the returns.this led to many unforced errors and strange behavior form world #2. Complaining, arguing, smashing racket and what not. Cant believe I was rooting for Federer when Djokovic was winning against an aging RF.

Nevertheless it was a seesaw match. Both had chances to win and Alcazar took it this time. But I believe Djokovic will go on to win 3 or more majors before hanging his boots.

[kavensri]

After Federer retired, I was searching for my next favorite player.
I used to support anyone who plays against Nadal and Djokovic (and I may still do it even when Alcaraz is not playing against these two).
I started admiring Alcaraz's play and personality after his US open win last year.
And after yesterday's win and the way he behaved throughout the game and after the game, it is confirmed that I am going to support him (just like how I supported Becker, Graf and Federer) till he retires

[oldshivabull]

Hi, I have been scouring the net for beginners' tennis racquets--for example, https://thetennisbros.com/reviews/ra...inner-players/ . These are quite good reviews, and have embedded links for more in-depth coverage by racquet.

However, they still leave me confused. My coach recommends an unstrung weight of 270gm (because I am of grey-hair vintage). So I have nearly finalized a Pro Staff 97 UL or a Yonex Ezone 100L, but doubts creep in: I am wondering if I will take to the 97inch size of the Wilson racquet. A Head Speed S has also been suggested. And it seems Babolats are all the rage.

Let me know if you have good recommendations. And, very importantly, where I can buy these raquets from.

I want to develop my game and my simple (and geriatric) aim is to play well. I don't want a 104 inch head with power; an all-rounder racquet will work for me. That said, the Babolat Strike also tempts me. So...merry confusion and indecisivensss.