The day is upon us, Carlos Alcaraz takes on Novak Djokovic in one of the most eagerly awaited tennis matches in years. It is a privilege to cover an encounter of this magnitude as part of our Wimbledon predictions. Alcaraz is a one-time grand slam champion, but he may not be deemed the best player in the world until he beats the evergreen Serbian in a final. Djokovic is chasing a 24th major crown, an eighth at Wimbledon and his fifth on the bounce at the All England Club.
Alcaraz oozed class as he got past Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the semi-final, while Djokovic’s straight set win over Jannik Sinner was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, with both players having issues with their movement due to the surface. Djokovic has not lost a match on Centre Court since being beaten by Sir Andy Murray in the final in 2013.
The duo’s head-to-head record is 1-1 at this point, with both matches taking place on a clay court. Alcaraz was favourite to beat Djokovic at the semi-final stage of the French Open last month, but suffered from cramping after levelling the match at one set all and the 36-year-old went on to lift the title.
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Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz is a mercurial talent, his athleticism and agility is other-worldly, he has improved significantly on grass courts this season and will likely go on to win ten or more grand slams. Having said that, he is taking on the greatest male player of all time according to grand slams won and a master of the five-set format. There is far less expectation on the 20-year-old’s shoulders than there was in Paris last month, and that could improve his mindset for the challenge, but it is hard to get on board with a bet on the underdog for our Wimbledon predictions, due to his opponent.
There was a time where Djokovic was motivated a lot by the rankings, but returning to world no. 1 with a win probably fades into insignificance compared to clinching a 24th slam in his mind. It is hard to think of a sportsperson who has been this ice-cool under pressure over such a long period of time, and Djokovic will not be bothered by the British crowd supporting the underdog. The seven-time Wimbledon champ has improved his serve considerably since working with Goran Ivanisevic in recent years, and with that in mind it is no surprise to see his grass court game go from strength to strength.
Djokovic has dropped the opening set in the last two Wimbledon finals, to Matteo Berrettini and Nick Kyrgios respectively, Alcaraz is a very different player to those two in style but certainly has the ability to take at least one set if the reigning champion’s level fluctuates across the course of the match. There are shades of Rafael Nadal aiming to overcome Wimbledon favourite Roger Federer in this match, with the 2008 classic, to which the Spaniard won the final set 9-7, regarded as one of the greatest ever played. At this stage of his career, Alcaraz has not yet proved that he can produce a performance of that standard on the occasion of a grand slam final and for that reason, we will be backing him to put up a strong fight, but to ultimately end up on the losing side.
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Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic
15th July
start time 14:00 Novak Djokovic wins the match and both players win a set
