Jul 15, 2023, 5:50 p.m. ETDjokovic and Alcaraz, the Wimbledon grand final. Getty
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. The two names that best define perhaps the history of current tennis. On the one hand, the most successful representative of the Big Three, maximum winner of Grand Slams in singles, with more weeks as world number 1 and with the possibility of being the top Wimbledon winner with Roger Federer. On the other, a 20-year-old who has dazzled the world of sports. At his young age there seems to be no barrier that can stop his upward career. He is already a Grand Slam champion and with 28 weeks as the best in the ranking. For many, the candidate to be the king of the next tennis generation. And the setting couldn’t be better, the grand final on the Central Court of the All England, the court par excellence.
I wouldn’t have time to name all the impressive statistics the Serb has beaten in his career. However, there is conclusive data to understand the magnitude of the rival that the Spaniard will have to beat in a match that could undoubtedly remain in the most important pages of professional tennis. Absent he has 20 straight victories in MajorsIt is the third time that he has reached the final of the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season. He is the player with the most Grand Slam finals (35) and the one who has won the most (23). And as if he were little won the last four tournaments in Londonwhich means that he has 34 wins in a row.
Numbers that would scare anyone at the time of playing a final, but in the case of Alcaraz today, make his rival’s favoritism not so clear. The Spaniard has been pleasantly surprised by his adaptation to the grass. On his way to the defining match he has lost just two sets in the previous six meetings and, furthermore, in his previous preparation he won the tournament in Queens.
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It will definitely be a turning point in the sport and it may even be the kickoff to many more defining matches between the two players with the highest ranking, which by the way, will also compete for number 1 in the world. A context that is very similar to what happened in the same scenario in 2006 when Rafael Nadal faced a consolidated Roger Federer and marked a before and after in that period. That time it was a victory for the Swiss (after beating him two years in a row, then the man from Manacor would take his revenge in 2008), but for Rafa it was the take-off tournament to begin to establish himself as a player capable of winning on all surfaces, similar to current case of Alcaraz.
In the face to face there are many factors to consider. First of all, the record is even in two games. It really is a curiosity that they have played so few times, having been protagonists of the circuit in the last three years. Secondly, it is that it will be the first time that it is on grass, on both occasions it had been on brick dust. And finally, It will be the first final between the two since they met last year in the semifinal of the Masters 1000 in Madrid with a victory for the Spaniard 6-7 (5), 7-5 and 7-6 (5) and, this season, in the same instance, but Roland Garros, with a victory for the Belgrade-born 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 and 6-1.
Neither of them lowered the price in the run-up to the final. For Djokovic, as he said in his post-victory press conference against Sinner “it’s the final that people most anticipated”, while Alcaraz admitted after beating Medvedev that “it’s probably the best moment of his life and a dream come true”.
The table is served in a party that will have absolutely all the seasonings. You can enjoy it on Sunday, July 16 starting at 10:00 AM (Argentina)/9:00 AM (Chile)/8:00 AM (Colombia and Peru)/7:00 AM (Mexico) on ESPN and Star+.
2023-07-15 21:50:00
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