[NomadSK]

What a dud Wimbledon final !!

Never seen joker being bullied like this and with so many unforced errors.

This is what joker in his prime did to Fedrer.

Sublime tennis displayed by Alcaraz, well deserved silverware !!

Spaniard in Wimbledon final will it be Spaniards at football final !!

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

What a dud Wimbledon final !!

Never seen joker being bullied like this and with so many unforced errors.

Some other Novak was at play today. I have never seen Novak commit so many unforced errors at the net. He made errors playing some volleys which he would probably slay while being in his sleep !!

That said, Alcaraz was at his best today. He was almost serving ala Ivanisevic. The age difference showed up today and Novak couldn’t keep up. He will surely go back and contemplate his future tonight. Guess we have our next superstar of tennis now. Wonderful play and deserved winner

[ex-innova-guy]

Unforced errors or not, for once, Djokovic understood how it feels when someone is so dominant on court. He had put many players in tough spots like these in the past. Today certainly wasn’t his day, but you have to give credit to the Spaniard for once again entertaining us with his shots. This match was not as tough as last year's or this year’s French Open against Zverev.



Alcaraz now joins the likes of Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic to win the Double (French Open + Wimbledon in the same year). When he was reminded of the same, I loved how humble he was in his winning speech, stating that these are Champions and I don’t consider myself amongst them yet.

[Mik]

The Big 3 era spoiled a lot of us and I saw lot of casual fans tuning in as they liked one of the 3 or maybe disliked one of the one
With Djokovic himself admitting he is a step behind Sinner and Alcaraz, we can probably call 2024 as the official changing of the guard. Tennis is in safe hands and hopefully a legendary Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry peppered in with some old hands like Meddy and Zverev and up and comers like De Minaur will make the next few years riveting.
A question a lot of tennis youtubers are talking about today is whether Djokovic is done. I personally think - no! The man has risen multiple times and if the third set is anything to go by, he can hang in with these young guns if he can keep finding solutions and redlining his game. I think the old man has still got a slam or two in him by the end of 2025.
Ofcourse, he will start dropping down the rankings and thus might have to beat both Sinner and Alcaraz on the way to the title. Tough ask.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Mik

With Djokovic himself admitting he is a step behind Sinner and Alcaraz, we can probably call 2024 as the official changing of the guard. Tennis is in safe hands and hopefully a legendary Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry peppered in with some old hands like Meddy and Zverev and up and comers like De Minaur will make the next few years riveting.
A question a lot of tennis Youtubers are talking about today is whether Djokovic is done. I personally think - no! The man has risen multiple times and if the third set is anything to go by, he can hang in with these young guns if he can keep finding solutions and redlining his game. I think the old man has still got a slam or two in him by the end of 2025.
Ofcourse, he will start dropping down the rankings and thus might have to beat both Sinner and Alcaraz on the way to the title. Tough ask.

Well said. But I think Djokovic is done, sadly. What I saw yesterday was not Alcaraz the highly talented young player, but Alcaraz the champion. He proved it repeatedly in the tournament itself, in fact, having not so great a run through to the final, but in every match that he grinded his way past the opponent, there was that champion mentality at work. He seems to have cut back on his penchant for spectacular shot making, to effective and proportionate shot making. Once you make that adjustment, you can be difficult to beat.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by Mik

A question a lot of tennis Youtubers are talking about today is whether Djokovic is done. I personally think - no! The man has risen multiple times and if the third set is anything to go by, he can hang in with these young guns if he can keep finding solutions and redlining his game. I think the old man has still got a slam or two in him by the end of 2025.
Ofcourse, he will start dropping down the rankings and thus might have to beat both Sinner and Alcaraz on the way to the title. Tough ask.

Champions are generally fighters, so he's not done yet for sure. But winning will get tougher for him as he goes ahead, it happened with Sampras, Fedrer, Nadal etc.

With age injuries start to creep in and keeping the same momentum is kind of difficult. The problem is mind doesn't age as fast as the body and it takes time for the brain to comprehend the change when frequency of the injuries keep increasing for the athletes at the highest level.

Baton is mostly passed on to the new generation, it will take few years or few grand-slams down the line to know who's gonna replace the Big 3, although it will be big shoes to fill-in with the huge vacuum which has been created by the exit of these three.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Never seen joker being bullied like this and with so many unforced errors.

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Some other Novak was at play today. I have never seen Novak commit so many unforced errors at the net.

To be playing itself at this level, much less reach the final a month after meniscus surgery is in itself amazing. (I've had meniscus surgery on one knee and have also torn the meniscus on the other one.) Even if the physical repair has been done, the time spent out of training and out of top-level competition takes its toll. Add to that what an injury that affects your very mobility and basic stability does to your mind. You will hesitate, you will hold back, the mind remembers the pain and self-preservation kicks in to avoid that again. The 'flow state' that the best athletes in the world access at will doesn't kick in as naturally as it used to. It is a wonder he even entered this year's tournament.

There is a trend for superstars to try and play even when they are below par. Mbappe at the Euros and what a different France it was after he broke his nose. Whoever you are, injury takes a toll on the mind and the body and you will be below your best, however strong your will is. There is no short cut to recovery, rehab, and getting back to training. Being the type 'A' personalities they are, they will not see that. That's where a good coach should step in.

[schumi_pete]

I really do think Djokovic is not going to reach the level of Alcaraz and Sinner because he seemed a half a step slower than Alcaraz yesterday. It wasn't much to do with his knee, as he himself alluded to in the post-match press conference, but he just seemed slower than Alcaraz.

He will still beat most players on the Tour, but his only two matches in Grand Slams this year against the rising big 2, he has been beaten comfortably. Age catches up with everyone at some stage, and it is showing in the case of Djokovic right now.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by am1m

To be playing itself at this level, much less reach the final a month after meniscus surgery is in itself amazing. (I've had meniscus surgery on one knee and have also torn the meniscus on the other one.) Even if the physical repair has been done, the time spent out of training and out of top-level competition takes its toll. Add to that what an injury that affects your very mobility and basic stability does to your mind. You will hesitate, you will hold back, the mind remembers the pain and self-preservation kicks in to avoid that again. The 'flow state' that the best athletes in the world access at will doesn't kick in as naturally as it used to. It is a wonder he even entered this year's tournament.

Completely agree, being a sportsperson myself, I can completely relate to what you just said, injuries are tough.

However, the way Alcaraz played that day, it made Joker look as a novice. He looked more down and out than being injured. The energy level was down, there was no medical time out or grimace on his face during the match or clutching of his knees, if at all that bothered him.

All I could see that he wasn't 100% in the game, whether it was physically or mentally, only he or his team would know.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

All I could see that he wasn't 100% in the game, whether it was physically or mentally, only he or his team would know.

Exactly what I felt, I would say both - physically and mentally.

He seemed to hesitate to reach the long balls, almost kind of dragging his knee at times. The fluidity wasn’t there at all. Although he didn’t complain about his knee, he did say during the post match interview that if would have been given a final appearance 3/4 weeks earlier he would have taken that. It says something in a way.

Mentally he seemed to give up at some points during the game, almost like “I can’t or won’t do this or take this risk at the moment”.

Let’s see his game at the Olympics and later the US Open as it will give him more time to work on the knee. I would love to see him face off with Alcaraz next time.

Cheers

[Mik]

Its too early to give up on Djoker. He has beaten illustrious duopolies, injuries (2017), health issues, vaccine bans, young upstarts and the crowds.
Even last year, after getting beat by Alcaraz in the Wimbledon, he got the better of him in Cincinnati and ATP Finals.
While he was completely outplayed in the first 2 sets and was really playing bad, the third set shows us that all is not lost. If any 37 year old can be backed to get back on the horse, its him.
He is clearly going to focus only on the big ones and SF in AO and Roland Garros and Finals in Wimbledon isn't all too bad. If he reaches peak fitness in a month, the US open will tell a lot about his hunger and game.

Will be fun to revisit this conversation in a year or two.

[PreludeSH]

Isn't it injury that made Federer's performance drop in later years ? Even he would reach semi finals easily.

Its part of how you go down. I think Alacaraz's perfect play made Djokovic look bad at his current level. I was surprised on how quickly he recovered from the surgery and dont think it caused any issue in his games. It was Alacaraz that hit him, not this particular injury. Its cumulative though at his age with injuries and slowdown.

When we think about what the big 3 managed, here comes another guy who has achieved more than them at his age. Hope others make him better.

[Chetan_Rao]

When Alcaraz wobbled on championship point 3rd set 5-4/40-0 and got broken, I thought 'you drop this set, you're probably going to regret it young man!', but credit to him for holding his nerve, and playing some great tennis into and through the tie-breaker.

Alcaraz is the real deal. Djokovic isn't dead and buried, yet.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

When Alcaraz wobbled on championship point 3rd set 5-4/40-0 and got broken, I thought 'you drop this set, you're probably going to regret it young man!', but credit to him for holding his nerve, and playing some great tennis into and through the tie-breaker.

Alcaraz is the real deal. Djokovic isn't dead and buried, yet.

That game with all those double faults and losing three championship points showed that nerves got the better of Alcaraz. Although, that also meant that Alcaraz will have the upper hand, should the set went into Tie Break and that is exactly what happened. Alcaraz was hitting winners at will yesterday and it was a foregone conclusion that he will win the tie break.

Novak was hesitant going for his shots yesterday and it was unreal to see him miss so many volleys at the net. I don't know for sure but I guess 'you guys can't touch me" rhetoric went too far in his mind may be !!

Novak still has two or even three grand slams in him and knowing how competitive he has been till now, he ain't going anywhere without a statement making win.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Mik

Its too early to give up on Djoker. He has beaten illustrious duopolies, injuries (2017), health issues, vaccine bans, young upstarts and the crowds.
Even last year, after getting beat by Alcaraz in the Wimbledon, he got the better of him in Cincinnati and ATP Finals.
While he was completely outplayed in the first 2 sets and was really playing bad, the third set shows us that all is not lost. If any 37 year old can be backed to get back on the horse, its him.
He is clearly going to focus only on the big ones and SF in AO and Roland Garros and Finals in Wimbledon isn't all too bad. If he reaches peak fitness in a month, the US open will tell a lot about his hunger and game.

Will be fun to revisit this conversation in a year or two.

This is exactly what some of these champions do, skip major tournaments, focus only on GS's and then end up in a poor show for lack of match practice. This is the classic end stage of their careers. Every year passing makes them 1 year older in mind and body. Yes, Novak may go deep in the US Open, but during every match, the pressure will be on him to prove it, and the opponent will always have the mental edge. I sort of liked how Sampras called time on his career. Didnt play for much of 2003 and simply announced his retirement at the beginning of the US Open , having won it the previous year to be the only player to be undefeated after his or her final GS win. The Big 3 have had their chances on this front. I expected Federer to do it, instead of having the melodrama of a retirement ceremony at the Laver cup.