“He was the dominant force on the court” – Djokovic at peace with Wimbledon defeat to Alcaraz

After losing to Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic says there wasn’t much he could have done to change the outcome.

Novak Djokovic Wimbledon | Gepa / Panoramic

Chris Oddo

July 14, 2024

It wasn’t the way he wanted to go out, but if anybody can appreciated a stellar performance on the sport’s biggest stage, it is Novak Djokovic. After his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s singles final the 24-time major champion gave full credit to his opponent for a job well done.

“He was a better player. He played every single shot better than I did,” 37-year-old Djokovic told reporters after the loss, as he compared his loss to Alcaraz in the 2023 final to this year’s defeat. “I lost in an epic five-set match that we went toe-to-toe. This year it was nothing like that. It was all about him. He was the dominant force on the court and deserved to win.”

Was there anything that Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, could have done to stop the Alcaraz express?

“I don’t think I could have done something much more,” he said. “Try to pump myself up maybe, yes. Get the crowd involved. That’s what was happening in the third [set]. That got me going a little bit.”

“I’ve never seen him serve that way”

In the end Djokovic said that Alcaraz was just playing too well. He credited the Spaniard for having what was perhaps the best serving day of his career, given the occasion, and the opponent.

“He wasn’t also allowing me to have many free points on my serve,” he said. “He was reading the serve. He was playing with a lot of variety. I’ve never seen him serve that way, to be honest. 136. Maybe I was missing something this tournament, but I’ve never seen him serve that fast. He must have had a really good serving practice day yesterday.”

Djokovic falls to 24-13 in Grand Slam finals, but more importantly, he has now lost the last two Wimbledon finals to Alcaraz, missing out on a chance to tie Roger Federer an the all-time Wimbledon win list, as well as missing out on a record-breaking 25th major singles title.

It was a valiant attempt from the Serb, who underwent knee surgery on June 5, and played the tournament wearing a grey compression sleeve over his right knee. Most predicted that he would have to skip Wimbledon this year, but motivated by his love for the Championships he made a remarkable recovery, and reached his 10th career Wimbledon final.

“Overall he really outplayed me,” Djokovic said. “I did all I can to prepare myself for this match and this tournament in general. If someone told me I would play Wimbledon finals three, four weeks ago, I would take it for sure.”

Carlos Alcaraz 🤝 Novak Djokovic #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/4HefpitnTt
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024

Olympics, then US Open – “Let’s keep it going”

Djokovic still believes he has a lot to give in 2024, and in his career. On Sunday he expressed his desire to put his best foot forward at the Olympics, which begin in two weeks in Paris.

“Let’s keep it going, because I still keep going,” he said. “I still have intentions to play Olympic Games, hopefully have a chance to fight for a medal for my country. On a completely different surface obviously, going back to the place where I got injured some weeks ago. Let’s see. Let’s see how physically and mentally I’m going to feel.

“Hopefully I can find the right tennis because I’m going to need all I have and more to go to the final of the Olympic Games.”

Djokovic also stressed that he believes he’ll be back at Wimbledon next year, even if his more immediate goals are occupying his bandwidth at the moment.

“As far as coming back here, I mean, I would love to,” he said. “I don’t have anything else in my thoughts right now that this is my last Wimbledon. I don’t have any limitations in my mind. I still want to keep going and play as long as I feel like I can play on this high level.

“The Olympic Games and US Open are the two big goals for the rest of the year for me. I’m hoping I can be at my best in those two tournament. That’s all I can say right now.”