By Srihari Ravi
Carlos Alcaraz stunned Novak Djokovic in five sets to become the first player in 10 years to defeat the Serb on the Wimbledon Centre Court and in a Wimbledon final, and to also become the first player outside the Big Four to win The Championships in 20 years. This officially marks the changing of the guard in men’s tennis……right? Wrong.
Whenever statements like that are made, it is usually a result of historical significance and context being thrown out the window. It is quite frustrating, to say the least, when one result is extrapolated beyond the realms of reality and is also used as ammunition for some convenient revisionism of Djokovic’s legacy. Like I mentioned in the first and only piece that I have written for Popcorn Tennis so far, recency bias is a disease. It was not long ago that Djokovic looked borderline impossible to defeat at the slams, and he did win the Australian Open and Roland-Garros. You would think that he was, at some point, bound to lose a match that was decided by the finest of margins. Holding off all challengers until he lost that match to a generational talent in Alcaraz is beyond admirable.
To the delight of the entire tennis fraternity, Djokovic and Alcaraz met once again in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. And to my personal delight, it was Djokovic who edged Alcaraz in a clash decided by the finest of margins. Djokovic won 133 points to Alcaraz’s 128, and the difference in points won was entirely due to Djokovic’s edge in both tiebreaks (9-7 and 7-4 in sets two and three, respectively). Djokovic collapsed to the ground after converting his fifth championship point after three hours and 49 minutes, recovering from 5-7, 2-4 down and from saving a championship point in the second set.
That was not only yet another enthralling match between the two but also was a stern reminder to the detractors, who had his tombstone ready, that Novak Djokovic is not going anywhere and that he could not be farther away from being done. He may be 36 years old, but his longevity is simply unfathomable. One Wimbledon final loss in five sets, which is supposed to be the norm, does not change that. That said, his clashes with Alcaraz are a memorable rivalry in the making.
Yes, I am going to address the proverbial elephants in the room. Firstly, even though some are shying from doing so due to the 16-year age gap and the fact that they are both from different generations, I’ll freely call this a rivalry. Secondly, I’m assuming that the two put themselves in a position to contest for the biggest titles on tour on a regular basis. Let us not forget that we had to wait more than a year for another match between them after their epic Madrid semifinal in 2022, which the Spaniard won in very similar fashion to Djokovic’s Cincinnati victory.
This rivalry is a marketer’s dream. I had already mentioned at the start of this piece that Alcaraz climbed what is currently tennis’ Mount Everest: Beating Djokovic in a Wimbledon final and beating him in a Grand Slam match that went to a deciding set. Only one man managed to do the latter since the Djokovic renaissance in Wimbledon 2018, and that was Dominic Thiem in the 2019 Roland-Garros semifinal. Not to mention that only one man had previously defeated Djokovic in a Grand Slam final that went five sets: Andy Murray at the 2012 U.S. Open. However, Djokovic has also proven to be something of a kryptonite of Alcaraz’s.
While Djokovic was heavily backed to win the Cincinnati final considering how underwhelming Alcaraz was prior to the final and in Toronto, the odds were actually in the Spaniard’s favor. He was 6-0 in Grand Slam finals and Masters 1000 finals combined, and since his breakthrough he simply has not lost a match that has ventured deep into the deciding set. Enter Djokovic, who tore up that script and handed Alcaraz a defeat that was the first of its kind. It is quite understandable why the Spaniard was in tears following that match.
In every aspect, including trading the No. 1 ranking multiple times over the span of several months, these two players have matched one another pound for pound. Remember when we were all upset that Alcaraz cramped at the beginning of the third set of their Roland-Garros semifinal this year? Well, it’s safe to say that we have been more than compensated for that. May the tennis world be blessed with many more Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz epics, and thank you to Alcaraz for filling that void whose existence we feared after the Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal era.
Popcorn Tennis 