Novak Djokovic says he is “not at that level” after falling to a chastening defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles Wimbledon final.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner looked almost helpless as Alcaraz powered to a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win – his second straight victory over Djokovic in the SW19 showpiece.
It is another result that marks a changing of the guard in men’s tennis.
Between them, 21-year-old Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, 22, have won all three of this year’s Grand Slam tournaments.
“Both of them are the best this year by far, I feel like I’m not at that level,” said 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic.
“In order to really have a chance to, I guess, beat these guys in Grand Slam latter stages or Olympics, I’m going to have to play much better than I did today and feel much better than I did today.”
Yet to win a title this year, it has been Djokovic’s worst start to a season since 2006.
The 37-year-old was outplayed by Alcaraz in Sunday’s final, with the young Spaniard reeling off deft drop shots, hefty serves and thunderous forehand winners.
“Just overall the way I felt on the court today against him, I was inferior on the court,” Djokovic said in his news conference.
“That’s it. He was a better player. He played every single shot better than I did.”
‘I needed to see an outburst’
When Djokovic fell a break down in the fourth set of last year’s final, he took out his frustrations by smashing his racquet against the net post.
However, there was barely a flicker of emotion from the seven-time Wimbledon champion when he found himself two sets to love down on Sunday.
Nick Kyrgios, a runner-up to Djokovic in 2022, described him as being “so flat”.
“I would have liked to have seen – whether it was a racquet smash or a roar or something – after Novak went down those two sets, I needed to see an outburst to kind of reset his energy,” Kyrgios told BBC TV.
“He was so flat for so long and then there was a game at 3-2 in the third set where he really came alive, but it was a bit too late.”
The Serb underwent surgery on a medial meniscus tear in his right knee less than a month before his first-round match.
“If someone told me I would play Wimbledon finals three, four weeks ago, I would take it for sure,” Djokovic said.
Alcaraz said it was “amazing” and “unbelievable” what Djokovic had done over the fortnight, describing his opponent as “superman”.
“I did all I can to prepare myself for this match and this tournament in general,” added Djokovic.
“Today I saw that I was just, as I said, half a step behind him in every sense. That’s the reality that I have to accept at the moment.”
‘No thoughts that this is my last Wimbledon’
Despite feeling that his performances of late are not matching those of Sinner or Alcaraz, Djokovic has no plans to retire any time soon.
He is still planning on competing for Serbia at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer with the hope of winning a gold medal – the only thing missing from his vast trophy collection.
“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 said.
He added: “As far as coming back here, I mean, I would love to. 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.”
BBC
