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Carlos Alcaraz made an impression on Novak Djokovic with his debut triumph in Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic (ATP 2) has won too much in his life to be devastated after losing the final at Wimbledon to Carlos Alcaraz (ATP 1). The Serb’s disappointment was hardly noticeable at first and his words into the microphone on Center Court proved that he was a fair loser.
“I lost to a better player today,” said Djokovic immediately after the thrilling duel. What particularly impressed him was the way Alcaraz served the triumph home: “It was amazing what quality you showed at the end of the match. You absolutely deserve this win.” It wasn’t until he addressed his family that Djokovic got emotional.
«Spanish bullfighting mentality»
However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion did not lose his sense of humor. The Serb said with a smile to Alcaraz: “I thought you were giving me problems on clay and maybe on hard court … but on grass? Really now?”
I hope we play against each other at the US Open as well.
At the media conference afterwards, Djokovic went one step further in his hymn of praise: He had “never” played against someone like Alcaraz, the Spaniard combined the skills of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic himself, according to the 36-year-old. Alcaraz has “the best of three worlds”, but above all this “Spanish bullfighting mentality”.
Alcaraz is currently the “best player in the world”, he has “everything for a long career on all surfaces”, emphasized Djokovic. At the same time, however, he expressed the hope that the Wimbledon final, the third duel between the two, was “the beginning of a great rivalry”. “I hope we play against each other at the US Open too. It’s good when number one and number two duel in an almost five-hour thriller.”
Alcaraz’ meteoric rise continues
At the US Open, Alcaraz, the defending champion, will be the hunted. Beaming after his brilliant performance on Church Road, he said: “It’s great to win, but I would have been proud if I had lost.”
He is “proud of the work that my team and I do every day. Because I played against a legend of our sport today.” There seems to be no limit for Alcaraz himself, his progress is breathtakingly fast – so fast that even Djokovic can’t stop raving.